Kaare Vedvik prepared for anything as Vikings' specialist

EAGAN (FOX 9) - Kaare Vedvik has only been in Minnesota about 72 hours, but the specialist is willing to do whatever it takes to help the Vikings win football games.

Vedvik, originally from Norway, came to the Vikings on Tuesday as part of a trade with the Baltimore Ravens that involved a 2020 draft choice. It's yet another gamble for the front office on a specialist. The last two that were drafted, Blair Walsh and Daniel Carlson, were both released.

The Vikings aren't exactly sure what his role will be just yet, but he's prepared to punt, kick or hold. He loves all of it.

"Whatever I can do to contribute or whatever I can do to help this team win games and go to the Super Bowl, that's what I want to do. I love them both, I have a passion for both," Vedvik said Tuesday.

Vedvik didn't even have his name on the back of his No. 7 jersey yet on his first day of Training Camp practice with the Vikings on Tuesday. He focused that day mainly on punting, and kickoffs. He kicked a few field goals off a tee, and converted from as long as 60 yards.

He was put into his first tangible pressure situation during Thursday's practice at TCO Performance Center. Mike Zimmer put him through two live kicking sessions. In the first, with Chad Beebe holding, Vedvik was good from 33 and 37 yards out before just missing the right upright from 40 yards.

In his second session, with punter Matt Wile holding, Vedvik was 3-for-3 with field goals from 40, 44 and 47 yards out.

"The most important thing is that he gets a lot of reps," Special Teams Coordinator Marwan Maalouf said.

Vedvik's addition was just one piece of an eventful week for the Vikings with their specialists at Training Camp. Kevin McDermott, who had been with the Vikings for four seasons, was released and Austin Cutting won the long snapper job.

"He wants to take every single rep, you can definitely see his talent and why he won the job. He definitely won the job and he deserves it," Maalouf said.

Cutting will make his first NFL start, though it's not official with the preseason, Sunday night as the Vikings host the Seattle Seahawks at U.S. Bank Stadium. Will he have nerves? Any rookie should, but Mike Zimmer isn't worried.

"I hope not, he's probably been yelled at a little bit in the military, in the Air Force I'm guessing," Zimmer said. "I don't know if he's flown jets or not, but I'm sure they prepared him for being shot at."

Then there's the addition of Vedvik, who came to the U.S. from Norway as a foreign exchange student when he was 18 years old. He was a kicker in high school with a soccer background, then was asked by the coaching staff to learn punting.

He spent three years on that, and was a kicker his senior year of high school when the kicker in front of him got hurt. His versatility kicking and punting got him to Division I football at Marshall.

He can punt, he can kick, he can do kickoffs and he can hold. But what will he do for the Vikings? The coaching staff is still evaluating that. It's not being ruled out that he could kick and punt, which could cost Wile his roster spot.

That said, there hasn't been a full-time punter/kicker in the NFL since 1981.

"It's a difficult task to ask out of somebody but that being said, he's talented enough to do all three," Maalouf said.

Vedvik isn't worried about the competition among specialists. He's just going to focus on what they ask him to do, and do it the best he can with the right attitude.

"I'm here, I'm just ready to go to work and do what I love," Vedvik said.

He's got the right attitude. Now it's just a matter of it stays that way when a game is on the line.