Daniel Carlson experienced a little bit of everything in his first season of pro football.
Drafted by the Minnesota Vikings out of Auburn in 2018, he struggled and was released after just two games and missing three field goals – including two in overtime – in his final appearance.
But, he was signed by the Raiders, played 10 games for Oakland and found success, making 16 of 17 field-goal tries including all three from 50 or more yards.
Now Carlson – a former Auburn standout who ranks as the SEC’s all-time leading scorer -- just completed minicamp with his Raiders teammates last week and is headed toward training camp in July with a goal of building on the good foundation he made since joining his new team in October.
“I think you’re always getting worse or better,” Carlson told Mark Inabinett of the Birmingham (Alabama) News. “And, so, yes, I learned some things that worked last year and I want to keep those things going. But at the same time, I always want to improve.
“I’ve been working really hard this offseason. … I want to continue to build off what I had last year and the things that were going well, but continue to improve every day”
After being released by the Vikings, Carlson went home and worked on fundamentals, hoping to get his mechanics and mindset right for his next opportunity.
Raiders
When the Raiders called, he was ready.
Carlson said he planned to take a bit of a break after minicamp, then start preparing to be completely ready for training camp and the regular season.
“Hopefully, we have a long season and get into the playoffs and, hopefully, I’m peaking come playoff time,” he said.
