The Minnesota Vikings have been fortunate when it comes to having legendary wide receivers on the team. Current fans know know that Justin Jefferson is an elite pass catcher in today's NFL and Randy Moss is often listed among the greatest to ever play the position.
In that conversation, Cris Carter's name comes up, but doesn't carry the weight that it likely should. Despite being in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and being the Vikings' all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns.
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Cris Carter almost didn't end up as a member of the Minnesota Vikings.
Cris Carter's story almost didn't land him a spot with the Minnesota Vikings. In a YouTube video hosted by the Vikings, two legendary players had a great conversation about several topics, including how they joined the team.
“I really didn’t have a choice, it came down to the New York football Giants, coach Parcells, and coach Burns, who called me also. I knew Minnesota played indoors… I was like, man I need to go to Minnesota.”
During the conversation with Cris Carter and John Randle, host Pete Bercich talked about Carter's path to Minnesota and revealed that there was a second team that put in a claim on him after he was released by the Eagles.
The New York Giants were the other team that put in a claim on Carter in 1990. However, Minnesota paid a $100 transfer fee to ensure they landed his services. Carter would go on to play 11 seasons with the Vikings, playing in 188 games and becoming one of the most decorated pass catchers in team history.
Carter got his wish to come to the Minnesota Vikings and play indoors. A media personality and analyst, the eight-time Pro Bowl wide receiver often speaks fondly of his time with the team and represents the purple and gold well.
Meanwhile, the Vikings created one of the most dangerous wide receiver duos in NFL history when they combined a great route runner and possession receiver in Cris Carter with a superfreak like Randy Moss. That led to one of the most exciting times to watch the purple and gold and was a huge reason for the explosion of the team's popularity in the late 1990s.
Thank goodness things worked out the way they did for the Minnesota Vikings and Cris Carter. The team's history wouldn't be the same and the purple and gold would have missed out on one of the best players to ever play the game.