Minnesota Vikings Release Greg Jennings
Two years after signing a bloated contract, it was time for Mike Wallace to leave Miami.
Apparently, two years after signing a bloated contract, it is also time for Greg Jennings to leave Minnesota, with Wallace as his replacement. The Vikings announced the release of Jennings on Saturday afternoon, less than 24 hours after they completed a trade bringing Wallace to town.
Jennings, 31, caught 127 passes from multiple quarterbacks in his two years in Minnesota. He produced 1,546 receiving yards and and 10 touchdowns during that time. He also built a house in Minnesota, took on a leadership role, and immediately began his quest to be one of the most generous and approachable players on the Vikings roster.
Despite the addition of Wallace, and Jennings’ 2015 cap hit of $11 million, this move is somewhat confusing. Jennings had reportedly been willing to give the Vikings a more cap-friendly restructure and was the team’s most consistent receiver over the last two years.
A well-connected Vikings reporter, Darren Wolfson, illustrated the confusion on Twitter soon after the move was announced.
Truly am SHOCKED about Jennings being released. Built a house here, and expressed how much he wanted to be here. Will dig on back story.
— Darren Wolfson (@DarrenWolfson) March 14, 2015
Jennings built the house, and his family loves it here. He’ll probably make this his full-time home. Something weird had to have gone down.
— Darren Wolfson (@DarrenWolfson) March 14, 2015
Jennings was willing to take a nice pay cut — I stand by that. Maybe $6Mish for 2015. Clearly the sides couldn’t agree on the exact number.
— Darren Wolfson (@DarrenWolfson) March 14, 2015
The Vikings now have Wallace, Charles Johnson, Jarius Wright, Cordarrelle Patterson, Adam Thielen, Kain Colter, and Donte Foster. This move provides clarity as to exactly how the depth chart is shaping up for 2015, but it also means the Vikings likely won’t eliminate receiver as a possibility in the first round of the NFL Draft.
The full cap ramifications are not really known yet, as a lot depends on how the Vikings designated this release, but I am one Vikings fan that is disappointed to see this move take place. Jennings was a class act, but also a very talented wide out, and nobody else on this roster can get open and do all of the “little things” as well as Jennings does.