The Minnesota Vikings’ 5-0 start has come with some issues for the offense, as they literally haven’t had a full game with every key piece on the field. Apart from that run of injuries, the return on investment with wide receiver Jauan Jennings has been nil, with just two catches for nine yards so far.

With that, trade speculation around Jennings has naturally surfaced. It’s worth wondering if a sideline encounter with head coach Kevin O’Connell during the Week 5 game against the New Orleans Saints, apparently captured randomly by a local Minnesota TV photojournalist, will have any impact on the internal conversation.

All in all, with the signing of Odell Beckham Jr. to the practice squad last week and a workout that included multiple wide receivers this week as the team headed into a bye, it seems like Jennings’ run as a Viking could be shorter than anyone wanted.

General manager Nolan Teasley and O’Connell may not be willing to wait much longer to see if things get better. Winning games can only cover up so much, especially if Jennings starts to outwardly show frustration or express frustration behind the scenes.

Tom Pelissero sets aside idea Vikings and Jauan Jennings are already headed for a divorce

During his appearance on KFXN-FM’s “Power Trip Morning Show” on Thursday, The Ringer’s Tom Pelissero shared an update on Jennings after he was asked if he had any insight about the situation with the veteran receiver.

“I don’t anticipate Jauan Jennings is going anywhere. I expect he’s gonna be on the team after the bye.”

While that felt like a pretty declarative assertion, and he circled back to it, Pelissero also acknowledged that teams have been calling the Vikings about Jennings.

“Certainly there’s been trade interest in him. That’s typical when a player’s had the low production level that Jauan’s had so far this season.

Other teams begin to call. I believe that he’s going to be on the roster. I believe there’s more in there…they haven’t necessarily gotten him the opportunities they would like to.”

Four disappointing games, and three full games with quarterback Kyler Murray as he has worked through his own early kinks, would be pretty quick to bail on the idea that Jennings can be a meaningful contributor to the Vikings’ offense this season.

The bye week creates some room for O’Connell and offensive coordinator Wes Phillips to figure out how to get Jennings more opportunities. Then, there’ll be three games to get things on a better track before the trade deadline.

If we’re still talking about Jennings’ stark lack of production in a couple of weeks, or there are more signs of him expressing discontent, then there’ll be extra juice for the idea that he could be traded.

For now, barring a trade offer that can’t be turned down in the meantime, it’ll be interesting to see what happens with the situation when the Vikings come out of the bye week.

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