Kaare Vedvik’s NFL career has been marked by preseason success and regular season disappointment. But that doesn’t matter since it was as a kicker. The Buffalo Bills signed Vedvik this offseason and clearly claimed he would be punting in Buffalo, not placekicking. Vedvik came in for a punting audition in December.
Vedvik clearly has the tools to be a successful punter in the NFL. In college, he averaged 44.0 yards per punt in his senior year, a number higher than current Bills punter Corey Bojorquez. Opponents didn’t have many return yards against him, either, and he uncorked a 92-yard punt to top it off. He averaged 55.5 yards on two punts with a long of 58 and a net of 48.0 in the 2019 preseason for the Baltimore Ravens.
The big-legged kicker could also handle kickoff duties, limiting the wear and tear on Stephen Hauschka, who turns 35 this offseason. He kicked off six times for Baltimore last preseason.
Another additional benefit to having Vedvik on the roster is the ability to try long-distance field goals at the end of the half or end of the game. Buffalo hasn’t been willing to trot out Hauschka for long field goals over the past year, but Vedvik and his stronger leg could be a consideration on attempts over 50 yards.
Make no mistake about it, Vedvik is a legitimate challenger to Bojorquez this offseason and the Bills could have their second homonym-based punting competition in two years. Last year it was Corey Bojorquez vs Cory Carter. This year, it’s Corey Bojorquez vs Kaare Vedvik.