What Will The Minnesota Vikings Do With Jarius Wright In 2016?

After wide receiver Jarius Wright was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the 4th round of the 2012 NFL Draft, the team inked him to a 4 year deal worth over $2.5 million. Since then, Wright has had some ups and downs as a pass catcher, but has ultimately played well enough to earn playing time over some of the other talented young guy on the roster.

Now it is 2015 and Jarius Wright is in the last year of his contract with the Vikings. He’s coming off his best season as a pro, notching career highs in targets (62), catches (42), receiving yards (588), carries (5) and rushing yards (71). With Wright’s career still blossoming, the Minnesota Vikings have found themselves in an odd position. They have a lot of talent at wide receiver.

After trading for Mike Wallace from Miami, the Vikings now have 6 talented, young pass catchers on the roster. Charles Johnson, Cordarrelle Patterson, and Adam Thielen return to camp along side Jarius Wright and now they’ve added 5th round draft pick Stefon Diggs in the 2015 NFL Draft.

Dec 21, 2014; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jarius Wright (17) makes the diving touchdown catch as Miami Dolphins cornerback

Brent Grimes

(21) defends in the second half of the game at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Barr-USA TODAY Sports

Diggs offers a similar skill set to the one Wright has and has already been mentioned as competition for Jarius Wright’s spot on the roster. If Diggs is impressive during his rookie campaign, I expect that chatter to continue to get louder. However, Jarius Wright can silence those critics by having another solid season.

While Jarius Wright believes he has played well enough to earn an extension, it seems as though the Vikings are waiting to see what happens during training camp, preseason, and maybe even the 2015 NFL season. Both the Minnesota Vikings and Wright should be in no hurry to ink a deal though, as it isn’t uncommon for players in his situation to prove their worth in their contract year and earn more money than if they inked a deal prior to the season.

Personally, I’m hoping that Diggs can unseat Marcus Sherels as the punt returner and force the Vikings to keep 6 wide receivers on their roster so they don’t lose any of the guys they currently have. But only time will tell what the future holds for Jarius Wright.

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