Week 6 has arrived, and with Minnesota heading into its bye, the Vikings are getting a full look at one offseason move that has gone sour fast.
The decision to give former 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings a one-year, $8 million deal in May looked like a clean fit at the time. Minnesota wanted another proven pass-catching threat, especially one who could work in the red zone and ease some of the pressure on Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. Jennings had just put up a strong scoring profile with San Francisco, catching 55 passes for 9 touchdowns in 15 games in 2025.
That optimism has evaporated in a hurry.
Through five games, Jennings has played in four of them and has just two catches for nine yards on five targets. He’s logged 201 offensive snaps, but the return has been nearly nonexistent, and so far he has looked like Minnesota’s weakest offseason addition.
The frustrating part for the Vikings is that Jennings hasn’t even been outproduced by one or two depth pieces - he’s been outplayed by several. Tai Felton, Jeshaun Jones and Myles Price all have more receiving yards despite seeing far fewer snaps. Pro Football Focus also points to Jennings being on pace for career-worst numbers in multiple categories.
The timing makes the whole thing look worse. Jefferson missed time after leaving Week 3 with an ankle injury, and Addison sat out Week 5, yet Minnesota still couldn’t get any meaningful production out of Jennings when it needed him most.
That lack of impact has already pushed the Vikings to look elsewhere. They activated Jones after his suspension, signed Odell Beckham Jr. as a free agent, and on Monday they brought in more receivers for workouts, according to KPRC 2 Houston’s Aaron Wilson. JuJu Smith-Schuster headlined that group, with D’Wayne Eskridge and Dayton Wade also in attendance.
Jennings’ case is especially hard to defend because he isn’t helping on special teams either. He has been a non-factor in an offense that is already struggling, which makes the roster spot and cap commitment feel even heavier.
If Minnesota wanted to move on, a trade would clear a little over $5 million in cap space while leaving $4.5 million in dead money, per Spotrac.
For now, the Vikings are left hoping the bye week can reset things. But right now, the Jennings signing looks like the kind of offseason call that keeps hanging around long after the excitement fades.
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