Nov 19th 2008 10:45PM by Ryan Wilson (author feed)
Filed under: Jaguars, Vikings, AFC South, NFC North, NFL FansThe Vikings drafted Troy Williamson with the seventh-overall selection of the 2005 draft to replace Randy Moss, who had been traded to the Raiders. Things didn’t quite work out; in three seasons, Williamson never caught more than 37 passes, he hauled in a grand total of three touchdowns in 39 games, and last February, Minnesota ended up shipping him to Jacksonville for a second-day draft pick.

It’s been more of the same with the Jags; Williamson’s battled injuries, played in just five games, and has four catches for 27 yards (but 25 percent of his receptions resulted in touchdowns!)

With the Jags hosting the Vikes this weekend, the story line, naturally, is Williamson facing his former team. In addition to the on-field banalities such stories evoke, there’s also this: Williamson’s then-coach Brad Childress fined the wideout for missing a game to be with his family after his grandmother’s death. Seriously.

After some players protested, Childress reconsidered, but it helps explain why Williamson still has bitter feelings about his time in Minnesota. And why, during a Wednesday conference call, he said he’d like to “duke it out” with his former coach this Sunday. Wait, what?Continue Reading