The news that 2009 Pro Bowler Sidney Rice will miss at least half the regular after undergoing hip surgery (and possibly more, depending on the timetable) is pretty devastating for the Vikings' hopes for 2010, since they'll likely be without a legit No. 1 wideout for most of the season. That's why it sure does seem logical for the Minnesota to inquire about picking up disgruntled wide receiver Vincent Jackson from the San Diego Chargers.
Jackson is currently holding out from Chargers camp and seems likely to bail on the season in San Diego -- so much so that the Chargers gave the Seattle Seahawks permission to chat with Jackson and his agent about a contract in order to make a trade.
It's believed that the Bolts want a second-rounder for Jackson, and that price, given the Vikings need at wide receiver, is just about right for Minny.
Currently, the Vikings are staring down an ugly situation whereby their wide receiver depth chart reads as follows: Bernard Berrian, Percy Harvin, Greg Lewis, Javon Walker. Dearth of talent aside, this is problematic for a few reasons.
First, Berrian is much, much better suited as a deep threat than a true No. 1. Secondly, Harvin's talents are ideally utilized in the slot position, where the Vikes can move him all over the field. Third, Lewis and Walker aren't guys you want being forced into semi-major roles, much less starting gigs, should another injury occur.
The possibility of dealing for Jackson isn't without its cons, though: One issue facing a possible deal is that the Vikings would almost certainly have to ink Jackson to a long-term deal. That's expensive, obviously, and they just opened up their wallet to guarantee that Brett Favre would return for 2010 (although, really, they should just demand he take a pay cut).
Also, Jackson will miss the first three games of the season due to an NFL-imposed suspension, which severely saps his value when talking both trade and contract.
So maybe management doesn't make it rain on a guy who'll be locked in as a Viking for a long time AND miss some of this season because of personal conduct issues, but at this point, with almost all of their chips firmly planted in the center of the "win now" table, why not?
They've got an uncapped year on their hands, and since they don't provide an inter-conference or inter-division threat to the Chargers, there's really no reason why they shouldn't be at least willing to discuss contract with another 2009 Pro Bowler to fill what is suddenly the biggest positional depth problem on a team that appears pretty desperate to throw everything at a Super Bowl run this year.
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