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Former Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Dede Westbrook arrived in the Twin Cities yesterday, and apparently the Minnesota Vikings decided to have him stick around.
I'm told free agent WR Dede Westbrook is planning to sign a 1-year deal with the #Vikings on Sunday, per source.
— IG: JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) July 24, 2021
According to Josina Anderson, Westbrook will officially be signing a one-year deal with the Vikings on Sunday. The buzz on social media is that the deal is going to be worth around $2.5 million.
Westbrook would appear to be the favorite to secure the WR3 job with the Vikings, but there’s also a distinct possibility that he will open Training Camp this week on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) List. The reason for that is because he tore his ACL back in Week 7 of last year and there’s a decent chance that he’s still recovering. However, he worked out for the Vikings today and apparently they liked what they saw enough to keep him around.
This is also going to make things a little more difficult for guys like Chad Beebe, Bisi Johnson, and Ihmir Smith-Marsette. Perhaps not right away, because of Westbrook does start camp on the PUP List he won’t count against the 90-man roster. If he were to start the regular season on the PUP List, he would have to miss the first six games of the season, which would still leave a spot for one of those receivers. And, as mentioned in yesterday’s post about him, he could definitely help out as a punt returner, a category where the Vikings were the worst in the NFL in 2020.
What are your thoughts on the (apparent) signing of Dede Westbrook, folks?
UPDATE: You know that part where I said that Westbrook might start out on the PUP List? Yeah. . .forget I said that.
New #Vikings WR Dede Westbrook said that he's fine after his torn ACL injury suffered last October. When I asked him if he'll be ready for the start of Vikings training camp on Wednesday, he said, "Most definitely.''
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) July 24, 2021