Vikings Ink Former Raiders Wide Receiver Amid Depth, Injury Issues

The Minnesota Vikings have bonafide No. 1 and 2 wide receivers, though only one is healthy, and the position group grows quickly thin after that.

Justin Jefferson is healthy and happy after signing the richest non-QB contract in NFL history this summer. However, 2023 first-round pick Jordan Addison is entering his second season amid tumult on and off the field, following an initial campaign in which he amassed 70 catches for 911 receiving yards and 10 TDs.

Addison faces two misdemeanor charges in Los Angeles County related to an arrest on suspicion of DUI in July. He then sustained a left ankle injury during practice on August 14, after which doctors carted the wideout off of the field.

Head coach Kevin O’Connell told reporters the following day that Addison isn’t seriously injured and that he doesn’t “see [Addison] missing any extended time or anything like that.”

Still, Minnesota was thin at the position before Addison went down, and his injury has only highlighted what remains a top question mark for the offense — along with how well new running back Aaron Jones‘ health will hold up and what Sam Darnold can accomplish as QB1 all season long now that rookie J.J. McCarthy is out with a knee injury.

The Vikings brought in a potential answer by inking former Las Vegas Raiders wideout Justin Hall on Monday.

“Minnesota signed receiver Justin Hall, who entered the NFL in 2022 by signing as an undrafted free agent with the Raiders,” Craig Peters of Vikings.com wrote. “He spent that training camp with Las Vegas until the end of August 2022, when he was released during roster reductions.”

Justin Hall Spent Past 2 Seasons With Teams Outside NFL

Christopher Gates of SB Nation’s Daily Norseman cited stints for Hall with the USFL’s Houston Gamblers in 2023 and the Houston Roughnecks of the UFL the following season after the merger between the USFL and XFL leagues ahead of the 2024 campaign.

“In both of those seasons, he led his team in receptions and receiving yardage,” Gates wrote on Monday. “He also has some experience as a punt returner, and that might be what he’s doing in the preseason finale on Saturday with Thayer Thomas currently in the concussion protocol.”

Hall played five years of collegiate football in the MAC at Ball State University, amassing nearly 3,400 receiving yards and 18 TDs on 318 catches, per Football Reference. He also showed off his rushing skills, racking up 865 yards on 122 carries (7.1 yards per attempt) and scoring 10 TDs on the ground. He will play this season at 25 years old.

Hunter Renfrow Remains Option for Vikings at WR3 Spot

Hall may or may not prove a viable answer as a third wideout, or somewhere further down the Vikings depth chart. Minnesota currently lists Jalen Nailor and Brandon Powell as its two second-string receivers.

Another option for Minnesota is free agent Hunter Renfrow, also formerly of the Raiders. Bleacher Report’s NFL Scouting Department dubbed Renfrow an “add now” player for the Vikings on Monday.

“The Vikings caught a case of the injury bug last week as wide receivers Jordan Addison and Thayer Thomas went down in Wednesday’s practice,” B/R wrote. “The offense could also use another potential third receiver, a role that Renfrow has experience filling. The 2021 Pro Bowler hasn’t been the same since that season, but at this point, it might be worth it for the coaching staff to bring him in as a camp body at the least.”

For his career, Renfrow has tallied 2,884 receiving yards and 17 TDs on 269 receptions across 73 games played.