Popular Vikings Trade Rumor Squashed
Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports.
Put those Jordan Addison trade rumors to bed. They were never real.
Popular Vikings Trade Rumor Squashed
Addison personally squashed any trade rumors linked to his name on Instagram this week, a few days after he captioned a photo with āFREE 3,ā his personal motto since his collegiate days at Pittsburgh.
Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images.
Folks interpreted āFREE 3ā on an Addison photo as an impending trade request or sign of disgruntlement, and they were wrong. Addison posted a picture of himself at Pittsburgh using the same phrase ā Free 3 ā and it wouldāve been impossible for him to be traded from his college team.
Itās just the guyās motto. Plain and simple.
A Jordan Addison post from Instagram on October 28, 2024. The Vikings drafted Addison in 2023 with a 1st-Round pick, and heās served as the WR2 alongside Justin Jefferson since.
Addison specifically responded to The Nightcap Show, hosted by former NFLer Shannon Sharpe, telling Sharpe to do his homework about the origin of his saying. āFREE 3,ā per Addison, is a slogan to ālet him looseā or get him the ball ā similar to an athlete saying or tweeting LFG ā not a demand to leave an organization.
ProFootballTalkās Mike Florio led the charge after Addisonās FREE3 Instagram post, stirring the pot to suggest he would be traded. āIf anything, the Vikings will be buyers and not sellers at the upcoming trade deadline. That hasnāt stopped one of their best young players from sending a social-media message that has sparked speculation heād like a fresh start,ā Florio wrote last weekend.
āSecond-year receiver Jordan Addison has posted a photo of himself in uniform on Instagram, with the caption: āFree 3.’ā
Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports.
Apparently, Addison would just like the ball more frequently, an ordinary request from a wide receiver and one most fans understand ā and endorse. Addison is that dynamic.
Florio added while acknowledging that Addisonās teammate, Mekhi Blackmon, smacked down the trade rumor: āThat lit the fuse. The photo remains. Teammate Mekhi Blackmon, who also played with Addison at USC, posted in response to a tweet suggesting Addison wants out, āNo tf he not.ā
āRegardless, the photo and the caption havenāt changed. And the current generation of athletes knows (or should know) how certain things will be interpreted,ā Florio concluded.
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Addison even wore the FREE3 chain when the Vikings drafted him a year and a half ago ā and he very vividly was not looking for a trade that day or any since.Ā
The young wideout has logged 23 receptions for 231 yards and has banked a couple of touchdowns this year. He missed two games to injury earlier in the season, and his current pace is 561 receiving yards ā a downgrade from his 911 yards last year and 10 touchdowns as a rookie in 2023.
Perhaps Minnesota will āfreeā him soon and up those numbers. Heāll get a chance, at least, because, well, he wonāt be traded. He never asked for anything of the sort in the first place.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, āThe Sopranos,ā Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.Ā
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
