Vikings Appear to Be on Cusp of Signing WR3
The Minnesota Vikings longstanding lack of WR3 presence might soon be over.
Dede Westbrook, a free agent who previously played for the Jacksonville Jaguars, is in the Twin Cities per his social media accounts.
looks like we have liftoff pic.twitter.com/2EHg7UdVVU
— Dustin Baker (@DustBaker) July 23, 2021
During the Mike Zimmer era, Minnesota has not stressed heavy emphasis on the WR3 spot of its depth chart, focusing more on a ferocious WR1-WR2 combination with running backs, tight ends, and fullbacks sharing more of the duty otherwise allocated to WR3 by other NFL teams.
Now, the Vikings could be inching closer to adding a relatively known commodity in Westbrook.
Westbrook averages 572 receiving yards and three touchdowns per season – a mediocre statline for most NFL teams but one that would suffice for the Vikings, who routinely skimp at WR3.
He also has ties to Keenan McCardell, the Vikings new wide receiver boss. The two worked together in Jacksonville for the entirety of Westbrook’s young career.
Minnesota hasn’t utilized a true-blue WR3 in a very long time. In fact, the last time that three Vikings wide receivers all had 500+ receiving yards in the same season was 2009 — the campaign driven by Brett Favre.
And Westbrook is the player that Vikings fans want. We unscientifically polled “Vikings Twitter” last month on the topic:
If the new player bonanza continues for the Vikings, which free agent would you most enjoy seeing join the team next?
— Dustin Baker (@DustBaker) June 15, 2021
While there is no guarantee as of now that Westbrook joins the franchise, it would be rather odd to caption a picture of the Vikings facilities and “about that time” without related next steps.
Westbrook was a 4th-Round draft pick in 2017 from the University of Oklahoma. He played in two games last season, missing time with a torn ACL.