The Packers swapped out their backup kicker for a new one today after claiming Gabe Brkic off waivers from the Vikings.
The Packers claimed K Gabe Brkic off of waivers from the Vikings and waived K Dominik Eberle.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) June 13, 2022
The Oklahoma product signed with the Vikings as an undrafted free agent in May and went through most of their offseason program prior to be released last Friday.
From Brian Maafi’s write up of Brkic in the Cheesehead TV Draft Guide:
“Attended Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin School in Chardon, Ohio, where he handled kicking and punting duties. He redshirted his first season at Oklahoma, although he did kick in one game against Florida Atlantic. In 2019, he took over kicking duties for the Texas Tech game in late September. He finished the season 17/17 on field goals and 52/52 on PATs and was the only kicker in the nation to hit 100 percent of his kicks that season. He also handled all kickoff duties. For the 2020 season, Brkic connected on 20 of 26 field goals and all 49 of his PATs. He connected on eight from 40 or more, and four of them were 50 or more. In his final season in Norman, he had his first missed PAT.
Brkic has the strongest leg in the class, with the ability to make 60-yard field goals, but he has accuracy issues at longer distances. Some of it is the way he hits the ball, and some of it seems to be a confidence issue. He has a lot of kickoff experience, having kicked off 264 times with 134 touchbacks in his career. His kickoffs leave something to be desired for such a strong leg; the hang time is inconsistent. He will need to work on consistency with his foot placement. When his accuracy is off, it’s usually because he hits it closer to his big toe on the inside of his foot.”