Sports
Vikings Territory: Alas, The Vikings Reportedly Sign Bonafide WR3
It was Westbrook's first professional season, snagging 339 receiving yards in seven games.
July 25, 2021
Arguably for the first time since Jarius Wright (who left the team after the 2017 season), the Minnesota Vikings reportedly plan to sign a tried-and-true WR3.
Find out what's happening in Eaganfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Westbrook missed most of 2020 with a torn ACL.
Find out what's happening in Eaganfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
In 2017, during an almost-storybook season much like the Vikings, Westbrook and the Jaguars reached a conference championship, losing in heartbreaking manner to the New England Patriots. It was Westbrook’s first professional season, snagging 339 receiving yards in seven games.
Ever since, the Vikings have dropped serviceable men at the WR3 spot with the likes of Chad Beebe, Olabisi Johnson, Laquon Treadwell, Aldrick Robinson, etc. Westbrook is a paradigm shift for Zimmer because, when healthy, the University of Oklahoma alumnus is a shoo-in for 500-700 receiving yards. The Vikings mainly emphasize their fullbacks, halfbacks, and tight ends catching balls instead of true-blue WR3s under Zimmer. On paper, that changes now.
When the deal finalizes, Minnesota will have about $12 million dollars available in cap space. That’s enough to explore another EDGE rusher like Justin Houston or Olivier Vernon — or extend the long-term contracts of Harrison Smith or Brian O’Neill.
This press release was produced by Vikings Territory. The views expressed here are the author’s own.
