Vikings acquire WR Camarillo
Published 8:21 am Thursday, August 26, 2010
EDEN PRAIRIE (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings aren’t waiting around to beef up their ailing receivers corps.
The Vikings acquired receiver Greg Camarillo from the Miami Dolphins in exchange for cornerback Benny Sapp on Wednesday, one day after signing veteran free agent Javon Walker. The deal is contingent upon both players passing a physical.
Minnesota has little choice: Pro Bowler Sidney Rice will miss at least the first half of the season after having hip surgery Monday, and Percy Harvin hasn’t practiced much because of recurring migraines, leaving Brett Favre without his top two targets with just two weeks left in the exhibition season.
Camarillo rebounded from a torn ACL in 2008 to catch 105 passes for 1,165 yards and two touchdowns over the last two years. He is more of a slot receiver than a deep threat, which would make him a more realistic fit to replace Harvin than the 6-foot-4 Rice, whose leaping ability and athleticism contributed to a breakout season last year.
The sure-handed Camarillo did not drop a pass last season.
“We have to get on board together rather quickly, obviously,” Favre said after practice on Wednesday, referring to a handful of new receivers he has to get to know before the Sept. 9 season opener. “It will be tougher. I’m not going to sit here and lie to you. It will be tougher than we had hoped. So we’ve got our work cut out for us.”
Harvin returned to practice Wednesday for the first time since he collapsed during practice last week. He was taken by ambulance to the hospital, remained there overnight and did not travel with the team to San Francisco for the preseason game on Sunday night.
Harvin had some additional tests performed this week, but it is still impossible to predict when the headaches will surface and tests are still being done. He missed one game during the regular season last year, but still racked up more than 2,000 total yards and won the AP offensive rookie of the year award.
In Miami, Camarillo became expendable with the offseason acquisition of Pro Bowl receiver Brandon Marshall. The Dolphins also have Brian Hartline and Davone Bess at receiver.