No need for the Minnesota Vikings to pursue Eric Decker
By Adam Patrick
The Minnesota Vikings already have too many wide receivers competing for playing time and do not need to add the the recently released Decker to the mix.
Being that he is a native of Minnesota and played his college ball at the University of Minnesota, one would assume that the Minnesota Vikings would seem like a logical place for wide receiver Eric Decker to land now that he has been officially released by the New York Jets. The Jets let go of Decker on Monday after three seasons and the 30-year-old receiver is now free to sign with any team he wishes, including the Vikings.
Decker performed well during his first two years with New York, catching 154 passes for 1,989 yards and 17 touchdowns. But last season, he suffered a shoulder injury that only allowed him to play in a total of three games.
So now he is without a team and looking for a place to play this season. Should Minnesota give Decker a call and attempt to bring the receiver back home?
While it would make for a wonderful Disney movie, the short answer is no.
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Coming off of a draft where they selected two receivers, the Vikings already have a borderline excessive amount of pass catchers that will be competing for playing time this year. The group they also have is young and affordable and Decker likely is not going to give Minnesota any sort of discount just because he grew up down the road.
Plus the Vikings already have a younger receiver on their roster who has a similar skill set to Decker and who also grew up in the state of Minnesota. His name is Adam Thielen.
If the Vikings had an offense that was more centered around the passing game and were in desperate need of some experience in their receiver group, then adding Decker would be a good option. But comments this offseason from both Minnesota head coach Mike Zimmer and general manager Rick Spielman have indicated that the Vikings are still focused on building an offense with a strong rushing attack.
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There is no need to add a semi-pricey player like Decker to the roster if his abilities are not going to be utilized as much as possible. Unfortunately for some of Minnesota’s fans that wanted to see the receiver come back home, the Vikings seem to be moving in a direction that does not include Decker.