In search for WR3, Vikings take a look at Kendall Wright

The Vikings are reportedly hosting free agent WR Kendall Wright, who played last season for the Chicago Bears, but did they just get rid of their best option?

According to ESPN’s Field Yates, the Vikings are hosting free agent WR Kendall Wright to a free agent visit. Wright is a former first round pick by Tennessee where in 2013 he had his best year as a pro, catching 94 passes for 1079 yards. Most recently Wright was in Chicago as they navigated their way through the Trubiski/Glennon transition and still managed to catch 59 passes for over 600 yards.

Its obvious the Vikings are looking for a WR3 behind Diggs and Thielen. Kendall Wright could fill that spot, but is he better than Jarius Wright? It seems counterintuitive to release a player who knows your offensive terminology, has a relationship with the coaches and players and has proven to be effective if given snaps, only to immediately bring in a 28-year-old WR the Bears weren’t interested in retaining.

Perhaps the Vikings were seeing more from Laquan Treadwell late in the year and are planning on him contributing in a much larger way in 2018. In this case, the Kendall Wright visit makes a lot of sense. The Vikings can bring Wright in for one year, $3-5 million, draft a WR in the later rounds and see which of the two of them makes the team come training camp. There does not seem to be much optimism around Treadwell and Mike Zimmer might be the most vocal about it. However, Zimmer also recently admitted to trying to mislead the media with certain comments so maybe this is all for naught.

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Either way, Kendall Wright isn’t the upgrade fans had in mind for WR3 and although games are not usually won or lost by the third WR on the depth chart, it is interesting that the Vikings are kicking the tires here.