Myles Price didn’t just win a September award. He helped swing two games — and reminded the Vikings how quickly one return can change the shape of a Sunday.
The NFL named Price NFC Special Teams Player of the Month after a remarkable opening stretch. Through three games, he leads the league with 353 kickoff-return yards and 130 punt-return yards. His 21.7-yard average on punts also tops the NFL, and he’s been the only player with a punt-return touchdown.
That touchdown came in Tampa. Price broke an 86-yard return up the sideline, giving Minnesota a 10-0 lead in a game it eventually won 23-16. It was the Vikings’ first punt-return touchdown since Marcus Sherels scored against Houston in 2016.
Price told reporters afterward that he had dreamed about taking a return to the end zone in the days before the game. “I couldn’t stop smiling,” he said. “I’m probably going to be smiling till Wednesday practice.”
His Tampa performance was bigger than one highlight. Price finished with 238 combined return yards, setting a Vikings single-game record with 132 yards on kickoffs and 106 on punts. The touchdown earned him NFC Special Teams Player of the Week, too. A few days later, the monthly award recognized what he had done across the entire opening stretch.
And the Tampa return was not the first time Price changed a game this season. In Week 1, with Minnesota trailing Green Bay 22-10 in the third quarter, he brought a kickoff 68 yards to the Packers’ 28-yard line. The short field led to a Vikings touchdown, the first score in a 29-point run that turned a two-score deficit into a convincing win.
Those returns required different skills. Against Green Bay, Price had to read the kickoff coverage and find space in a developing return. In Tampa, he caught a punt, followed his blocks and found the crease before accelerating past the coverage, helping an offense that has struggled to move the ball.
Special teams coordinator Matt Daniels described the trait behind those plays: “Really elite vision.” Daniels said Price anticipates the cut and uses his vision to set up blockers at the second level. Head coach Kevin O’Connell said Price sees returns “from a vision standpoint” much like a running back, adding that he knows how to set things up.
The blocks matter, too. Price said after the Tampa game that he did not even see who made the key block on his return. He saw a teammate take out a defender and focused on hitting the opening. “Run. Run. Don’t let them catch you,” he recalled thinking. That instinct is part of the value: the returner has to process a moving wall of blockers and coverage players in seconds, then commit when a lane appears.
Price also made clear that Minnesota treats the phase as a weekly priority. “[The coaching staff] always tell us every week, ‘Book this phase,’” he said. The team did exactly that in Tampa, with the blocking creating the lane and Price finishing the play.
The award is a payoff to a longer climb. Price entered the NFL as an undrafted receiver in 2025 and quickly won Minnesota’s return jobs. He set a Vikings single-season record with 1,777 combined kickoff and punt-return yards as a rookie, demonstrating that he could produce at volume as well as deliver occasional explosive plays.
That rookie season was not flawless. Price finished with four fumbles, three of them lost, and a 99-yard return touchdown against Detroit was erased by a penalty. Several other long returns were also called back. A returner’s mistakes can be costly because the ball is often being handled in traffic, with defenders closing quickly and little time to recover after a bad decision. Minnesota continued to trust him, though, and his record-setting production showed why.
Daniels’ preseason expectations were high even with that learning curve. He said, “I think there is a high, high elite level that this guy can get to.” Price’s first month has not proved what his ceiling is over a full season, but leading the league across several return categories is a strong early answer to that challenge.
There is another part of Price’s growth that makes the month more interesting. The Vikings have started expanding his offensive role after he played only 17 offensive snaps as a rookie. During training camp, O’Connell identified Price as one of the young receivers who could help supplement Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and Jauan Jennings. Price has worked on his routes and familiarity with the offense, giving the coaching staff another reason to keep him active beyond his return duties.
That does not mean the September award is a receiving award, or that his role on offense is settled. His most important contribution so far has come before Minnesota’s offense takes the field. But a returner who can also contribute as a receiver gives the team more options on game day — makes his roster value less dependent on one phase.
Minnesota has needed all three phases to contribute during its 3-0 start. Brian Flores’ defense has created pressure and turnovers, Will Reichard has continued to make kicks, and Price has delivered field position and points. His 68-yard return helped ignite the comeback against Green Bay. His 86-yard touchdown gave the Vikings a cushion in Tampa.
The monthly award is deserved because Price did more than produce impressive totals. He made two returns that changed the terms of close games, and he did it in a way that shows how much value a dynamic returner can provide to a team still searching for offensive rhythm.
For one month, no Viking had a bigger impact before the offense even took the field.
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