The Minnesota Vikings have a new general manager with a reputation for trading high-profile players before contract circumstances force a potential overpay, and wide receiver Jordan Addison could be the first casualty of that strategy in Minneapolis as early as next offseason.
Thor Nystrom of SKOR North on Thursday, July 23 compared Vikings GM Nolan Teasley’s influence on the DK Metcalf trade from the Seattle Seahawks to the Pittsburgh Steelers ahead of last season to a situation that could unfold with Addison in Minnesota at some point in 2027.
“Nolan Teasley will be aggressive with trades,” Nystrom said. “Seattle made trades over the years that were wildly unpopular in the moment, but they were comfortable with the value that they were getting and they ended up getting vindicated on the other side of most of them.”
“I think the analog to that wouldn’t be [Justin] Jefferson, I would think that would be Addison,” Nystrom continued. “At the time that trade happened, [Metcalf] was heading toward a big extension. … You go one offseason from now, a year into the future, Jordan Addison will be heading into the last year of his rookie deal.”
Jordan Addison Still Retains 1st-Round Value in Trade
GettyMinnesota Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison.
Minnesota drafted Addison in the first round in 2023. The final season of his initial $13.7 million rookie contract is technically 2026, though the Vikings exercised the fifth-year option on that agreement earlier this spring, which pays Addison $18 million in 2027.
While Addison has been a productive player, his numbers and total games played have declined in each of his three NFL campaigns.
Addison, 24, tallied 70 catches for 911 yards and 10 touchdowns as a rookie. He has failed to match those numbers in the two seasons since and has also dealt with relatively minor, though meaningful, off-field concerns in each of his three years in the league.
Those include a DUI, for which the league suspended Addison three games to start the 2025 campaign, as well as misdemeanor charges of trespassing and reckless driving that authorities later dropped.
In spite of those concerns, Bill Barnwell of ESPN concluded earlier this month that Addison’s trade value remains at the level of a first-round pick.
Multiple Teams Currently in Market for Wide Receiver
GettyMinnesota Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison.
As Nystrom noted, Minnesota is unlikely to move Addison before next offseason. However, a mid-season deal ahead of the early November trade deadline could be in play depending on how circumstances develop.
Teams currently in need of a wideout that might be willing to go as high as a first-round pick include the Kansas City Chiefs and Washington Commanders. Both are in the AFC, which would limit the Vikings’ exposure if sending Addison out before his second contract ultimately proves a miscalculation.
How Minnesota’s quarterback situation plays out in 2026 could also factor into Addison’s future with the team. Kyler Murray and JJ McCarthy, a top-10 pick of the organization in 2024, are currently battling for the QB1 role with training camp set to begin in late July.
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