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Brit Lloyd signs with Vikes
Type: Latest News
09 March 2010 9:44 AM - Henry Hodgson
The Minnesota Vikings have signed British kicker Rhys Lloyd as a kick-off specialist on a two-year contract. Dover-born kicker Lloyd signed a two-year deal with the Vikings just a week after being cut by the Carolina Panthers.
Dover-born Lloyd decided to sign with the Vikings after a day-long visit with the team convinced him they are serious about carrying a kickoff specialist for the first time since Brad Childress took over as coach in 2006. 
Ryan Longwell will continue to handle field-goal and extra-point duties.
"I spoke to the coaching staff today and kind of picked their brains on what they wanted from me," Lloyd said. "I think their ultimate goal in the future is for me to be the field-goal guy and kickoff guy. But this year is me purely doing kickoffs. Ryan is doing the field goals, and I'm quite happy with that. We'll take it from there.
In many senses Minnesota feels like home to Lloyd - he attended the University of Minnesota, and spent the 2003 and 2004 seasons as kicker and punter for the Gophers before graduating. After a stint in NFL Europe with the Frankfurt Galaxy, Lloyd earned NFL jobs with Baltimore and Carolina.
Lloyd, 27, has not attempted a field goal in three NFL seasons with Baltimore and Carolina, but he has 51 touchbacks over the past two years. That includes 21 on 72 kickoffs last season, tying him for sixth in the league. Longwell is coming off a season in which he made 92.9 percent of his field-goal attempts but had five touchbacks on 98 kickoffs.
"A lot of people probably think it's not that big of a deal to have a kickoff guy," said Lloyd, who became an unrestricted free agent when the Panthers decided not to extend him an offer. "But I've noticed, and I think a lot of other teams' noticed the last few years, that it does make a huge difference. I think the Vikings in talking to me really assessed what their weaknesses were and they've come to me and I'm more than happy to be that guy."
Lloyd had also scheduled a visit with the New York Giants on Tuesday.
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