Former Vikings WR Is Back Due To….
Former Vikings wide receiver K.J. Osborn has signed a one-year, $4 million deal with the Patriots, according to multiple reports on Sunday. Osborn leaving Minnesota had seemed inevitable for a while, especially after the Vikings re-signed Brandon Powell and added Trent Sherfield on a one-year deal. He should have opportunities to see significant playing time on a Patriots team whose current top receivers are JuJu Smith-Schuster, DeMario Douglas, and Kendrick Bourne. A fifth-round pick out of Miami in 2020, Osborn was a very solid WR3 for the Vikings during his four-year tenure. He played only on special teams as a rookie, then broke out in 2021 with a 50-655-7 line. He followed that up with another 650 yards in 2022, including 157 against the Colts during the biggest comeback in NFL history. Last year, even with Justin Jefferson missing a chunk of the year, Osborn’s numbers were down a bit at 48-540-3. He had some issues with drops during his contract year. Osborn, who turns 27 this summer, is a steady receiver who does most of his work over the middle of the field. He’s also a reliable run blocker. From our UFA profile: This past season, the Vikings replaced Adam Thielen with rookie Jordan Addison and were without Jefferson for seven-plus games. Still, Osborn’s numbers took a slight step back in a contract year, dropping to 48-540-3 with just two games above 50 yards and a career-high seven drops (per PFF). The drops were surprising to see after he had just two in 2021 and ’22 combined. When he isn’t struggling with drops, Osborn is a rock-solid WR3. He’s a possession receiver who does much of his work in the intermediate area of the field, averaging 11.7 yards per catch for his career. His speed and route-running are nothing spectacular, but he has some sneaky big-play ability and red zone value. He’s also a capable run blocker from the slot or the boundary. In New England, Osborn will be reunited with former Vikings teammate Jalen Reagor. Notably, this deal means the Vikings now have two third-round compensatory picks on the board for the 2025 draft.
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What a wild week it was for the Vikings, who bid farewell to a couple of longtime team members and responded with a wave of additions in free agency. Our 2024 Free Agency Tracker (which we update once moves are official) had a little smoke coming from it last week. We’ll keep updating it in the coming weeks as moves continue to happen.
And if Harrison Smith, a six-time Pro Bowler, renegotiating his contract to come back for a 13th season wasn’t enough excitement toward the end of the week, the Vikings got cooking Friday morning when General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah negotiated a trade with Houston to acquire the 23rd overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft (to go along with already having the 11th selection).
There’s a good chance that readers caught some or all of everything that happened, but just in case, here’s the lightning round of all the action since last week’s Mailbag.
