Aug 12, 2023; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers helmets on the bench at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports.
His unemployment was brief.
Ex-Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jalen Reagor ended his stay with the New England Patriots last week — and has latched onto the 2-1 Los Angeles Chargers just days later.
NFL insider Jordan Schultz tweeted Monday, one day after Los Angeles lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers: “Source: The Chargers are signing WR Jalen Reagor. He’ll start on the practice squad with the likelihood he eventually gets elevated to the active roster.”
Reagor joins this WR corps in Los Angeles:
The Chargers’ passing offense ranks 19th leaguewide per DVOA through three games, so perhaps an eventually productive Reagor could provide a talent injection, though Reagor has never really done much of the sort through five NFL seasons.
In August 2022, Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah traded a 2023 7th-Round draft pick and a 2024 conditional 5th-Rounder for Reagor to the Philadelphia Eagles, hoping to squeeze untapped potential from the playmaker.
The young playmaker never really took off as a Viking. In fact, the lasting memory of Reagor heading into the 2023 offseason was two blundered routes against the Indianapolis Colts that caused interceptions. All told, Reagor tabulated 8 catches for 104 yards and a touchdown as a Viking.
Of all 31 NFLers who returned 15+ punts in 2022, Reagor’s 6.2 yards per return ranked 31st in the league. His production flatly didn’t impress, and accordingly, he was theorized on the roster bubble heading into 2023 training camp, culminating in the late-summer exit.
The Vikings waived Reagor on August 30th, 2023, and the ex-Philadelphia Eagle latched onto the Patriots practice squad the day after. He produced an impressive 2023 training camp and preseason for the Vikings, plopping him smack dab on the middle of Minnesota’s roster bubble. Most Vikings fans believed he did enough this summer to make the regular season roster, while some national voices speculated a possible waiver, which was ultimately correct.
To hedge the bet on the deal’s pricetag, Adofo-Mensah conducted a trade during the 2023 NFL Draft that netted a 2024 5th-Rounder from the Kansas City Chiefs, making the original Reagor deal next to free when the ledger balances. The swap didn’t net much, and wide receiver Jalen Nailor has since emerged as Minnesota’s WR3.
The Chargers host the Kansas City Chiefs this weekend and are expected to lose by a touchdown.
Reagor will turn 26 in January.
Los Angeles also signed former Vikings linebacker Blake Lynch this week.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.