ESPN Analyst Casts One Viking’s Future into Doubt
Dustin Baker
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On August 29th, about 1,200 men currently in the NFL will encounter sudden joblessness or practice squad assignments.
The NFL changed the rule this spring, mandating that all roster cuts from 90 men to 53 occur on the same day, August 29th.
ESPN Analyst Casts One Viking’s Future into Doubt
And when those trimdowns shake out, ESPN’s Mike Clay seems to believe fourth-year wideout Jalen Reagor will be on the outside looking in for the Vikings.
Clay joined the Purple Insider podcast on Monday, promoting the stock of free-agent newcomer Brandon Powell while casting doubt on Reagor’s future with the Vikings.
“I think Powell has done enough as a receiver to be a depth guy who can be a returner-receiver,” Clay surmised.
Reagor tabulated 8 catches for 104 yards and a touchdown in 2022. And of all 31 NFLers who returned 15+ punts in 2022, Reagor’s 6.2 yards per return ranked 31st in the league.
Clay added about Reagor, “Reagor, certainly, his scholarship is over. No idea if he even makes the team.”
Vikings boss Kwesi Adofo-Mensah flung a 2024 conditional 5th-Round pick and 2023 7th-Rounder to the Philadelphia Eagles for Reagor late last summer. At the time, the move looked wonderful, landing a high-upside talent in Reagor for a low cost. But the 2022 season arrived, and Reagor failed to make a serious thumbprint on the Vikings offense or special teams.
Then, Adofo-Mensah hedged the bet on the Reagor deal in the 2023 NFL Draft, and most didn’t even realize it. The Vikings traded back 15 spots in Round 4 (from Pick 119 to 134) and scooped a 2024 5th-Rounder from the Kansas City Chiefs. Minnesota later selected Jay Ward (S, LSU), while Kansas City grabbed Chamarri Conner (CB, Virginia Tech). Adofo-Mensah got his ‘Reagor pick’ back.
As for Powell, well, he’s essentially Reagor without 1st-Round draft stock. He also has familiarity with Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell, as the two won a Super Bowl together in Los Angeles in 2021.
To date, Powell has played in 44 NFL games, tabulating 47 catches for 354 yards and two touchdowns. He’s returned one punt return for a touchdown in his career against — you guessed it — the Vikings in December of 2021. Powell entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent from the University of Florida in 2018. Since then, he’s been a part of six organizations, including the Vikings.
For now, VikingsTerritory also projects Powell to make the regular season roster over Reagor.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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