Jarius Wright not closing the door on return to Minnesota Vikings
By Adam Carlson
Jarius Wright was released by the Minnesota Vikings to free up salary cap space, but he hasn’t completely closed the door on returning for the 2018 season.
The NFL can be a strange business. Star players can come from nowhere. Megastars can fall from grace. And players who have been with a franchise for all of their career can be let go to find a new home in the league. And Jarius Wright is one of those individuals looking for a good fit after being released by the Minnesota Vikings.
Wright spent six seasons with the Vikings after being a fourth-round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. Despite never seeing a huge amount of playing time, he earned a reputation as being a clutch player by making big plays, particularly on third downs, to keep drives alive.
After being released on Friday to save $2.64 million against the salary cap, speculation started as far as what the best fit would be for Wright in free agency or where he could have an increased role in a passing attack.
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Even though it is unlikely, Jarius Wright isn’t completely closing the door to a return to the Vikings according to the Twin Cities Pioneer Press.
"“It’s not out of the question,. But it’s the NFL. We’ll have to see what happens. But I love Minnesota. I would love to come back, so you just never know what will happen.”"
Although it would be interesting to see a contract the two sides would work out that would be cheaper than paying him what he would have earned in 2018, the logistics don’t quite work.
The Vikings suffer a significant amount of dead money due to releasing Wright. The $2.12 million lost there would have to be factored into any new deal he signed with the team, and since his 2018 base salary was scheduled to be $3.6 million, the odds of Wright signing back for less than $1.5 million has to be quite low.
Still, crazier things have happened in the NFL and Jarius Wright is willing to let the cards fall where they may.
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While it would be great to see Jarius Wright return to the Minnesota Vikings, fans shouldn’t hold their breath. A team with bigger needs at wide receiver will likely give him a solid look this year, but it all comes down if Wright and the Vikings can hammer out a deal that works for both sides.