Kaare Vedvik (; born March 16, 1994) is a Norwegian professional

gridiron football Gridiron football ( ),"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica'' ...

placekicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...

and punter. He most recently played for the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia *Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria ** Marshall railway station Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Is ...

and signed with the

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

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 gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(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 derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

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

Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...

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 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 14,082. The city is named after Union (American Civil War), Union General ...

, 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'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 goals, 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. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

for a fifth-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft. 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

. In the opening game of the season against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

, 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The 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 on October 9, 2020. On January 11, 2021, Vedvik signed a reserve/futures contract with Washington, but was waived with a non-football injury designation on January 28, 2021.

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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

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

Saskatchewan Roughriders

On April 15, 2021, Vedvik was drafted by 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 19 ...

in the second round of the 2021 CFL Global Draft. On October 10, 2021, it was announced that he had signed with the Roughriders. With an injury to the team's incumbent punter, Jon Ryan, Vedvik played in four regular season games as a punter and also played in two post-season games. With the Roughriders letting Ryan become a free agent in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, Vedvik became the team's punter for the season, where he played in all 18 regular season games where he had 107 punts for a 44.5-yard average and four singles. He also handled some of the kickoffs where he had 20 kickoffs with a 66.7-yard average and one single. In

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, Vedvik began the season on the injured list and was replaced by Adam Korsak.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

On August 13, 2023, it was announced that Vedvik had been traded to the

in exchange for Antonio Pipkin. He played in 10 regular season games where he had 50 punts for a 44.2-yard average with one single. He also played in the team's East Semi-Final loss to the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

. To begin the 2024 season, Vedvik was placed on the practice roster as

Nik Constantinou Nik Constantinou (born 17 December 1999) is an Australian professional gridiron football punter for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Texas A&M. Early life Constantinou grew up in Melbo ...

became the punter for the Tiger-Cats. Vedvik was later released on August 27, 2024.

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 Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Jacksonville Jaguars players Marshall Thundering Herd football players Minnesota Vikings players New York Jets players Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Canada 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 Norwegian players of Canadian football