Laquon Treadwell’s tenure with the Minnesota Vikings could be coming to an end.
Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reports that Treadwell is being made available to other teams by the Vikings, and notes that Treadwell being traded could get the Vikings a late draft pick to help recoup the fifth-round pick they lost in a trade for kicker/punter Kaare Vedvik.
“It’s fair to guess that because the Vikings gave up a fifth-round pick, and also because of his versatility to punt, Vedvik has the inside track to become the team’s kicker, even if he still has to beat out ex-Cowboy Dan Bailey. The upshot of the trade, for Minnesota is that they have a potential young, long-term solution at the position now, and at a good rate—Vedvik is due just $1.23 million over the next two years, and the team can tender him as an ERFA in 2021 and an RFA in 2022. And it’s not impossible that they get back the draft capital they gave up, either. I’m told that, with the emergence of Chad Beebe, former first-round receiver Laquon Treadwell is available again. And while no one’s moving anything significant for him, maybe there’s a team out there that’s willing to give up the kind of Day 3 pick the Vikings just surrendered.”
Treadwell has just 56 catches for 517 yards and a touchdown since the Vikings took him in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft.
Trading Treadwell for a draft pick would also free up $1.8 million in cap space, the amount Treadwell is due to make this season.
Treadwell entered training camp with a chance to prove that he should be the primary No. 3 receiver behind Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs, but he appears to have been outplayed by the likes of Chad Beebe, Bisi Johnson and Jordan Taylor.
Sunday’s preseason game against the Seahawks could be a good opportunity for the Vikings to showcase Treadwell, perhaps elevating the level of interest in him from teams in need of wide receiver depth.
