EAGAN, Minn. — The Minnesota Vikings are facing some challenges as they look for temporary substitutes following injuries to All-Pro long snapper Andrew DePaola and rookie kicker Will Reichard. This midseason shake-up comes at a time when their kicking unit has performed impressively throughout the season.

Coach Kevin O’Connell announced that DePaola will undergo minor surgery on his hand and will be placed on short-term injured reserve. His recovery will require him to miss a minimum of four games. Meanwhile, Reichard is dealing with a quadriceps injury that’s currently under evaluation by the team’s medical staff, leaving uncertainty around his status for the next match as he may also require a substitute.

DePaola, a key player who has been named a Pro Bowl selection for two consecutive years, joined the Vikings in the middle of the 2020 season and has not missed any games during his tenure with the team, which currently boasts a 6-2 record. At 37 years old, he has established himself as an integral part of the team’s kicking operations.

Reichard, drafted in the sixth round from Alabama, had an outstanding start to the season, successfully making all 14 of his field goal attempts and converting all 20 extra points in the first seven games. However, in the recent matchup against Indianapolis, he struggled, pulling a 53-yard effort wide right and hitting a 31-yard attempt off the right upright in the second quarter. These misses are believed to have been influenced by the injury he aggravated earlier in the game.

“We really wanted him to keep up the remarkable progress he’s shown since joining us,” O’Connell remarked. He added, “Injuries can happen, and we are committed to finding the best plan to ensure Reichard is healthy and performing at his best throughout the remainder of the season.”

Reichard boasts an impressive field goal conversion rate of 94.9%, which puts him in close competition with Pittsburgh’s Chris Boswell and Washington’s Austin Seibert, the latter of whom have also achieved high accuracy among kickers with 15 or more attempts. Additionally, he is one of four kickers in the league to have converted every extra-point attempt this season, giving the Vikings confidence in his performance prior to the injury.

Thanks to DePaola’s contributions, Vikings punter Ryan Wright is also performing well, ranking second in the NFL, with 53.6% of his attempts landing inside the 20-yard line.

In another update, O’Connell disclosed that left tackle Christian Darrisaw is set to undergo surgery on his left knee’s ACL after sustaining a season-ending injury during the game on October 24.