EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- The Minnesota Vikings effectively named Kevin McDermott the winner of their long snapper battle on Sunday, when they informed Cullen Loeffler he was being released.
The fact Blair Walsh missed three field goals and an extra point in a preseason game against the Oakland Raiders the day before, however, was not the reason for the decision, coach Mike Zimmer said.
"Releasing Cullen Loeffler had nothing to do with what happened the other night," Zimmer said. "It was the process of what happened in training camp this whole time.”
The Vikings had charted all of Loeffler and McDermott's snaps through training camp, Zimmer said, and found McDermott's were consistently better. "He was faster with his snaps. He was more accurate with his snaps," Zimmer said.
Loeffler was the long snapper on two of Walsh's four misses on Saturday night, but none of the snaps appeared to be particularly problematic for holder Jeff Locke.
"They were good snaps the other night," Zimmer said. "A couple of them were high. There were about two of them on the extra point and field goals that were a little bit high. They were manageable for sure."
McDermott said he'd found out he won the competition from Loeffler, who called him to congratulate him after finding out the Vikings had released him.
"He's a really, really special guy," McDermott said. "I've learned a lot from him. He's been here for so long, and he's meant a lot to this organization. It means a lot to have him call me and congratulate me, and it speaks a lot about the kind of guy he is."
Zimmer said the Vikings likely won't fill Loeffler's roster spot, with the first round of training camp cuts coming in a week.
"(Loeffler) can still play in the league. There's no doubt about it. He knows that," Walsh said. "Kevin won the job fair and square, and we're ready to move forward with Kevin this year."
