Minnesota Vikings place ‘absolute rock star’ Will Reichard on injured reserve

Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell called kicker Will Reichard " an absolute rock star for us " on Tuesday. But the show will go on for Minnesota on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars with John Parker Romo.

The Vikings signed the former XFL kicker on Tuesday, with Reichard going on injured reserve with a quadriceps injury.

A sixth-round draft choice from Alabama on April 27, Reichard made all 14 of his field-goal attempts and 20 extra-point tries in the first seven games of his rookie season .

On Sunday night, Reichard made three extra points, but the former Hoover High School standout missed on field-goal attempts from 31 and 53 yards. Reichard also continued to kick off in Minnesota's 21-13 victory over the Indianapolis Colts despite dealing with the injury to his kicking leg.

"It's something where you would love to have him just continue on the fabulous trajectory he's been on, really, since he arrived here," O'Connell said on Monday. "These things kind of come up, and we'll go through the process here of making sure we put together the best plan so we have him full and doing what he was doing all season long up until really last night.

"With how he's performed up until this point, I would imagine that it was a contributing factor in him missing a couple kicks. But he toughed it out and still put the ball in the end zone on some kickoffs and made some extra points, so a tough, tough dude and loves being out there with his teammates. And as you guys know and can tell, his teammates absolutely love him."

By being placed on injured reserve, Reichard will be required to miss at least the Vikings' next four games. Minnesota has nine games remaining on its regular-season schedule. The Vikings play the Jaguars on Sunday, Tennessee Titans on Nov. 17, Chicago Bears on Nov. 2.

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Romo has been on the rosters of the New Orleans Saints, Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears without kicking in an NFL regular-season game. He also was the All-XFL kicker in 2023 for the San Antonio Brahmas. The Vikings signed Romo in March but let him go on July 29 as they preceded into the preseason with Reichard as their kicker.

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