Vikings Running Out of Options at One FA Spot
The Minnesota Vikings either love Brandon Powell, Jalen Nailor, and Trent Sherfield — or have a grand master plan that isn’t time-dependent.
Vikings Running Out of Options at One FA Spot
Those men are the current WR3 candidates for the 2024 Vikings, and one will likely become the victor later this summer. Unless Minnesota has a free-agent plan.
If general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah indeed has a quiet WR3 plan not involving Powell, Nailor, and Sherfield, it’s time to reveal it because prospective candidates flew off the board in the last few days. For starters, DJ Chark signed on the Los Angeles Chargers’ dotted line, and he’ll vie for anywhere between a WR2 and WR4 gig in Tinseltown on Jim Harbaugh’s squad. Los Angeles curiously said goodbye to all its aging playmakers this offseason and used the draft + bargain-bin free agency for replacement. Chark was a bargain-bin replacement.
Soon after the Chark move, Chase Claypool became a Buffalo Bill, where he hopes to kickstart his career after dreadful stops in Chicago and Miami. Claypool fired up a marvelous rookie season in 2020 — so much so that Pittsburgh Steelers fans claimed he was on par with Justin Jefferson per talent level — but regressed mightily in 2021 and after. He’s scored three touchdowns in three seasons after scoring nine as a rookie.
After Chark and Claypool, Odell Beckham Jr. found his fifth new home of the last decade, joining the Miami Dolphins last week and adding another weapon to Mike McDaniel’s glitzy offense. Beckham always seems to know “the spot” for would-be Super Bowl contenders, so keep an eye on the evidently frisky Dolphins.
On the Vikings, this is their WR room at the moment:
WR1: Justin Jefferson
WR2: Jordan Addison
WR3: Brandon Powell
WR4: Trent Sherfield
WR5: Jalen Nailor
WR6: Lucky Jackson
WR7: Malik Knowles
WR8: Thayer Thomas
WR9: Daylen Baldwin
WR10: Trishton Jackson
WR11: N’Keal Harry
WR12: Ty James
WR13: Jeshaun Jones
WR14: Devron Harper
Tons of names, to be sure, there is no clear-cut WR3 after Jefferson and Addison at the top. In theory, a man like Trishton Jackson or the UDFA Ty Mercer could even bust out of nowhere and grab the third wide receiver job.
WR3 is ultra-important for Minnesota in 2024 because its defacto WR3, T.J. Hockenson, probably won’t be ready to play in September. He suffered a grim injury last December that will likely sideline him out of the gate in 2024. Hockenson’s injury recovery is progressing nicely, however.
Overall, these are Minnesota’s remaining WR3 options from free agency:
- Tyler Boyd
- Randall Cobb
- Russell Gage
- Marquise Goodwin
- Mecole Hardman
- Deonte Harty
- Julio Jones
- Zay Jones
- Hunter Renfrow
- Allen Robinson
- Sterling Shepard
- Michael Thomas
- Marquez Valdes-Scantling
Minnesota has about $17 million in cap space before signing its draft class as of May 6th.
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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