EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings agreed to terms Tuesday on a contract with four-time All-Pro punter Johnny Hekker, who will begin his 15th season in the NFL.
The 36-year-old Hekker spent last season with the Tennessee Titans. He played three years with the Carolina Panthers after spending his first 10 seasons with the Los Angeles Rams. He started with the Rams franchise in St. Louis in 2012 as an undrafted free agent out of Oregon State.
Hekker will be in line to replace Ryan Wright, who signed with the New Orleans Saints. Hekker previously played for Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell and special teams coordinator Matt Daniels with the Rams. He has never missed a game in his NFL career.
Hekker set what was then a league record in 2016 with a net average of 46 yards per attempt. His net average with the Titans in 2025 was 40.3, the third-lowest of his career, but his gross average matched a career high at 46.8 yards.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO
personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who
make comments. Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. Don't threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Anyone violating these rules will be issued a
warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be
revoked.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.