Giorgio Tavecchio had a decent season in 2017, but Oakland still made it an open competition going into camp starting with rookie Eddy Pineiro and later Mike Nugent. It seemed like Pineiro was primed to take the job after Oakland waived Tavecchio, but a groin injury ended his season before it even started. Nugent and Matthew McCrane would fill in admirably, but it turned out the real answer to Oakland’s woes wasn’t on the roster yet.
Because out in Minnesota, Daniel Carlson was being cut by the Vikings after missing 3 field goals in week 2 against the Packers which helped to end the game in a tie.