Vikings had ‘a lot’ of interest in former Lions kick returner
By Adam Patrick
Before he signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Jamal Agnew apparently was being pursued by the Minnesota Vikings this offseason.
Ever since the Minnesota Vikings chose not to re-sign Cordarrelle Patterson in 2017, they have struggled to find someone who can be productive as a kick returner.
The Vikings have given a number of different players a shot to be their kick returner during the last few seasons including Jerick McKinnon, Marcus Sherels, Mike Hughes, Holton Hill, Ameer Abdullah, and K.J. Osborn.
Last year, Minnesota ranked 17th in the NFL in kick return average. So this offseason, the Vikings have been on the lookout to find someone who can improve their kick returning abilities in 2021.
Minnesota Vikings attempted to sign Jamal Agnew this offseason
In an effort to find a new kick returner, Minnesota turned to free agency this year to see if they could find anyone. Apparently, the Vikings had an interest in former Detroit Lions returner, Jamal Agnew.
Agnew recently appeared on the “Couch Scouts Podcast” and he revealed that Minnesota was one of the teams that made an effort to sign him during free agency this offseason.
"“A team that really had a lot of interest in me was Minnesota. I wouldn’t have minded going down to Minnesota to play Detroit a couple times a year.”"
Agnew, who ultimately decided to sign with the Jacksonville Jaguars, handled the duties of returning both punts and kicks during his time with the Lions.
With the Vikings also having a need for a new punt returner, he would have been a great addition to their roster since he could’ve filled this need in addition to their need for a new kick returner.
Instead, Minnesota still doesn’t know who will be returning kicks or punts for them next season. Unless they find a return specialist in this year’s NFL Draft, the Vikings could potentially be heading into another year of having an underwhelming return game.