Kaare Vedvik (born March 16, 1994) is a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

professional

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Spe ...

and punter for the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an i ...

and signed with the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

as an undrafted free agent in 2018. He has also been a member of several other

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) teams.

Early life

Vedvik was born and raised in Norway to a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

immigrant father and

mother and he first came in contact with American football when he joined the

Stavanger Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the a ...

based team AFC Show in 2011. He later spent his junior year playing for McPherson High School in

McPherson, Kansas McPherson () is a city in and the county seat of McPherson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 14,082. The city is named after Union General James Birdseye McPherson, a Civil War general. It i ...

, as an exchange student in the United States. He initially wanted to play wide receiver, but his coaches at McPherson discovered he was better suited to play kicker.

College career

Vedvik joined

in 2013. After using a redshirt season in 2013, Vedvik served as Marshall's kickoff specialist in 2014. Vedvik did not play in 2015, serving as backup punter. Vedvik became Marshall's punter in 2016, and was named Conference USA Special Teams Player of the Week on November 1, 2016. Vedvik was Marshall's punter and placekicker in 2017. On October 14, 2017, Vedvik kicked a 92-yard punt, the 7th longest in FBS history and the longest since

Ray Guy William Ray Guy (December 22, 1949 – November 3, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a punter for the Oakland / Los Angeles Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). Guy was a first-team All-American selection ...

's 93-yard punt in 1972. He was named 2017 C-USA All-Conference First-team as a punter.

Professional career

Baltimore Ravens

Vedvik was signed as an undrafted free agent by the

in 2018. Vedvik was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list after he was assaulted before the start of the season. In the Ravens' 2019 preseason opener on August 8, 2019, he made all four of his

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...

s, including a 55-yard try.

Minnesota Vikings

On August 11, 2019, Vedvik was traded to the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

for a fifth-round pick in the

2020 NFL Draft The 2020 NFL Draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The d ...

. He was waived on August 31, 2019 after losing the kicker job to veteran Dan Bailey.

New York Jets

On September 1, 2019, Vedvik was claimed off waivers by the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

. In the opening game of the season against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

, Vedvik missed an extra point attempt and a 45-yard field goal; the Jets lost the game 17–16. He was waived on September 10, 2019.

Cincinnati Bengals

On December 16, 2019, Vedvik was signed to the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

practice squad. His practice squad contract with the team expired on January 6, 2020.

Buffalo Bills

On January 7, 2020, Vedvik signed a reserve/futures contract with the

. He was waived on August 19, 2020.

Carolina Panthers

Vedvik was claimed off waivers by the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

on August 20, 2020. He was waived on September 5, 2020 and signed to the practice squad the next day before being waived again on September 15, 2020.

Washington Football Team

Vedvik signed with the practice squad of the

Washington Football Team The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...

on October 9, 2020. On January 11, 2021, Vedvik signed a reserve/futures contract with Washington, but was waived with a

non-football injury Non-football injury and non-football illness (NFI) are roster designations used in the National Football League (NFL) for players who are unable to practice as a result of conditions unrelated to football, or injuries that did not occur during NFL g ...

designation on January 28, 2021. On April 15, 2021, Vedvik was drafted by the

in the second round of the 2021 CFL Global Draft.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Vedvik was signed to the practice squad of the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

on September 3, 2021. He was released on September 8, 2021.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

On October 10, 2021, it was announced that Vedvik had signed with the

References

External links

Marshall Thundering Herd bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vedvik, Kaare 1994 births Living people American football placekickers American football punters Canadian football punters Baltimore Ravens players Buffalo Bills players Carolina Panthers players Cincinnati Bengals players Jacksonville Jaguars players Marshall Thundering Herd football players Minnesota Vikings players New York Jets players Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Norwegian people of Nigerian descent Norwegian players of American football Saskatchewan Roughriders players Sportspeople from Stavanger Washington Football Team players