The Minnesota Vikings aren’t exactly overflowing with playmakers on offense.
There are questions at quarterback, Aaron Jones is 31 years old, and T.J. Hockenson hasn’t been the same player since injuring his knee, and looks to be a prime cut candidate. Beyond Justin Jefferson, there are very few certainties on that side of the ball. So, why in the world would Minnesota trade one of its few offensive stars?
The short answer is that while Jordan Addison has shown he can be a WR1-caliber player, his off-the-field issues have grown from lessons to be learned into legitimate problems for the Vikings. The NFL has already suspended the 24-year-old for his legal troubles, and the Vikings have suspended him for separate team violations. Whether he remains with the team will depend on whether Minnesota’s decision-makers view this situation as a young player still figuring things out or as a pattern of behavior that will continue to hurt the team.
From a certain perspective, it’s easy to see a potential trade as simply a matter of moving on from a complicated player and taking whatever return it nets. But there’s a real opportunity for the Vikings to make more of this situation than just a “cut bait and move on” deal.
While suspensions, injuries, and mediocre quarterback play can be considered, Addison has posted fewer yards, catches, and touchdowns every year since entering the league. His receiving yards have dropped from 911 to 875 to 610. His catches went down from 70 to 63 to 42, and his touchdowns from 10 to nine to three. Addison’s rookie season is still his best to date, and there’s some reason to think that maybe we’ve already seen the best of him. So, beyond the other secondary concerns, maybe there’s a better game plan for the Vikings to follow.
Minnesota already has one of the hardest puzzle pieces of an offense to find: a chain-moving, deep-threat, possession, do-it-all receiver in Justin Jefferson. Jordan Addison offers many of those same skills. It’s hard to argue against having two elite receivers on the field, but the cost in both financial and onerous terms is becoming too high. Sure, Addison is relatively cheap now, and even a fifth-year option would only run the Vikings about $17.5 million, but a long-term extension would almost certainly exceed $100 million. Minnesota would be much better suited to follow the ways of the Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks.
No, we’re not talking about Sam Darnold here (this time). Instead, let’s look at how Seattle built a lethal offense with a collection of players who performed their roles to perfection. Seattle has their own Jefferson in Jaxon Smith-Njigba and deployed him alongside a perfect possession receiver in Cooper Kupp, a deep threat in Rashid Shaheed, and dynamic running back in Kenneth Walker. These aren’t top-10 or -15 or maybe even top-20 players at their positions commanding $100 million contracts. They are good players who do their jobs extremely well, and now Seattle is parading down the streets.
So, to tie up one-third of the salary cap in two wide receivers seems borderline irresponsible. Is Addison worth that type of money? In a vacuum, yes. However, the Vikings could build their offense more cheaply and, arguably, more effectively by targeting lower-cost players for specific roles.
The debate over whether receivers can fill a WR2 or WR3 role is outdated and ineffective. The question is whether a receiver can fill a void in the offense. For Minnesota, Jalen Nailor might not be a prototypical WR2-type player, but he has already demonstrated he’s a legitimate big-play receiver with his 15.3 yards per reception average in 2025. Couple him with a steady, underneath receiver and boom – voids filled.
Despite Addison’s baggage, he would still be a highly valuable trade target for select teams. His value seems to hover around a second-round pick, given his off-field concerns and his eventual monster extension. However, the Vikings could do a lot of good with that draft pick. Taking another receiver or even a running back there could be on the table, along with adding even more defensive talent.
The bottom line is that while most fans want to paint a potential Addison trade as just getting rid of a problematic player, there’s definitely another side to this where football and financials drive the trade.
Still, it does feel unlikely that the Vikings move on from Jordan Addison simply because most teams don’t let good football players go unless they don’t have a choice. In Minnesota’s case, it might believe the offense absolutely needs him to thrive, and that his questionable extra-curriculars are getting solved. Time will tell if either is true, but for now, the Vikings have an interesting and pivotal offseason ahead.
