The Vikings appear willing to cut their losses with former first-round receiver Laquon Treadwell as Minnesota is now making him available via trade, according to Albert Breer of the MMQB. Breer notes that the emergence of receiver Chad Beebe is what is making Treadwell expendable now at this point in the summer.
Minnesota is pretty rich when it comes to the receiver position, boasting a group headlined by stars Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs. Those two will start for the Vikings for the foreseeable future, while Beebe and Jordan Taylor can serve in a backup role, making Treadwell an asset they can move.
The former Ole Miss product was the 23rd overall pick at the 2016 NFL Draft. So far in his career, however, he hasn't lived up to that first-round billing catching 56 passes for 517 yards and one touchdown over 40 regular-season games, with a majority of that production coming in 2018.
Given that lack of production, the price tag won't be huge to acquire Treadwell, who has a $3.16 million cap hit during the final year of his rookie deal in 2019. Minnesota did just give up a fifth-round pick for kicker Kaare Vedvik in a deal with the Baltimore Ravens, so it's plausible that they could be looking to try and recoup that lost asset.
As for those rumors about the potential end to his Vikings tenure along with the stories surrounding him being on the outside looking in at a legit role in the receiver rotation, Treadwell is keeping his head down.
"I really don't really pay attention to the media,'" Treadwell said earlier in camp, via TwinCities.com. "I'm just more on what's going on in the building. … (The media is) a distraction. So I just put it on the distraction list.''
The Vikings will continue to operate with a run-first offense at the start of the 2019 regular season, as was the case during the second half of the 2018 regular season once Kevin Stefanski took over as offensive coordinator. Look for the Vikings to use 12 and 21 personnel, featuring multiple tight ends, and at times, possibly a fullback, as they lean on running back Dalvin Cook and the zone-blocking run scheme.
