Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh expects Kaare Vedvik to be a backup kicker in training camp again this summer.
The Ravens were receiving trade interest in Vedvik last year, after he made eight of nine field goal attempts during preseason, including a 56-yarder in the preseason finale. However, Vedvik's career was put on hold when he was assaulted in downtown Baltimore on Sept. 1 and suffered injuries that landed him reserve/non-football injury list for the season. Instead of landing with another NFL team, the undrafted kicker/punter from Norway spent the season recovering and training.
The Ravens aren't looking for a placekicker or punter, fortunate to have kicker Justin Tucker and punter Sam Koch, two of the NFL's best. However, teams needing either position will have interest in Vedvik again if he kicks like he did last preseason. A host of teams had placekicking issues last season and were looking for someone to perform consistently.
"Kaare Vedvik, he'll be back," Harbaugh said during the NFL Annual League Meetings in Phoenix. "He was with us all season, he's training now. He'll be one of our camp kickers. Actually, I fully expect that he'll kick well enough for us to trade him. That's kind of, I would say, the goal. Now, if something changes, it's always competitive. You never know. Watch out Tuck. But I think we're really set with our specialists. Obviously, we're not looking to make a change there in all seriousness. But he's capable of kicking in the NFL. We probably could have traded him last year."
Vedvik played college football at Marshall, where he performed well as a both a punter and kicker. He made national headlines with a 92-yard punt against Old Dominion.
