Vikings Have Another Expensive Decision at WR
Dustin Baker
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While focus from Minnesota Vikings fans remains on phenom wide receiver Justin Jefferson’s next contract, an agreement that could buzz to your phone at any minute, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has an expensive decision on Jefferson’s running mate.
He’s Jalen Reagor, a wide receiver who joined the Vikings late last summer and mostly manned punt-returning duties in 2022.
Vikings Have Another Expensive Decision at WR
If Minnesota desires Reagor’s services for 2024 (so, the season after this one in the autumn), it’ll have to dole out $12.9 million for the fifth-year rookie option.
Anything is possible, but the Vikings are expected to decline the fifth year and examine Reagor’s impending free agency next March or perhaps cut ties with the 24-year-old this summer. Everything regarding Reagor is on the table.
Spotrac tweeted Monday all upcoming fifth-year-option decisions on the docket, and Reagor was on the list:
Open 5th-Year Option Decisions
NYG OT Andrew Thomas, $14.1M
ARI LB Isaiah Simmons, $12.7M
NYJ OT Mekhi Becton, $13.5M
MIA OT Austin Jackson, $14.1M
MIN WR Jalen Reagor, $12.9M
GB QB Jordan Love, $20.2M
SEA LB Jordyn Brooks, $12.7M
MIA CB Noah Igbinoghene, $13.2M
Adofo-Mensah traded a 2023 7th-Round draft pick and a 2024 conditional 5th-Rounder for Reagor to the Philadelphia Eagles last August, hoping to squeeze untapped potential from the playmaker. To hedge the bet on the deal’s pricetag, Adofo-Mensah conducted a trade Saturday that netted a 2024 5th-Rounder from the Kansas City Chiefs, making the original Reagor deal next to free when the ledger balances.
Last week, the Vikings exercised Jefferson’s fifth-year option for $19.7 million — the no-brainer to end all no-brainers. Soon, Jefferson’s contract will be extended and set the market as the league’s highest-paid WR in NFL history.
But Reagor’s next steps are more mysterious. Based on his 2022 performance, he emphatically isn’t worth $12.9 million, but in theory, Reagor could blossom in 2023. Reagor tabulated 8 catches for 104 yards and a touchdown. And of all 31 NFLers who returned 15+ punts in 2022, Reagor’s 6.2 yards per return ranked 31st in the league. The return on investment, at least in 2022, was a total meh.
Furthermore, the Vikings selected Jordan Addison in Round 1 of the 2023 NFL Draft four days ago, shoving Reagor farther to the back of the WR room. Unless K.J. Osborn orchestrates a box-out this summer, Addison should be on deck for WR2 duty, with Osborn at WR3, Jalen Nailor at WR4, and Reagor likely at WR5.
Adofo-Mensah also signed Diet Reagor this offseason, a man named Brandon Powell. The former Los Angeles Ram was a free agent, joined the Vikings, and will compete for Reagor’s punt-returning job in the coming months.
The Vikings must decide on Reagor’s fifth-year option by Tuesday.
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,’ and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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