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Sources: Vikes still considering trade for Jackson

Favre has thrown for just 396 yards

Will the combination of an 0-2 start and an ineffective offense be enough to force the Minnesota Vikings to make a deal for wide receiver Vincent Jackson(notes)?

Multiple league sources indicated that the Vikings are expected to amp their effort to acquire Jackson from the San Diego Chargers following a 14-10 loss to the Miami Dolphins in which quarterback Brett Favre(notes) was intercepted three times. The Vikings, who are without Pro Bowl wideout Sidney Rice(notes), have been held to 19 points in two games. Meanwhile, wide receiver Percy Harvin(notes) aggravated a hip injury and is scheduled for an MRI on Monday.

According to two sources, the Vikings were the team that agreed to terms on a one-year deal with Jackson on Sept. 4, but a trade between Minnesota and San Diego could not be worked out at the time. The deal would have been worth approximately $6 million for one year.

On Thursday, the NFL and NFL Players Association worked out a deal that if Jackson is traded by Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET, he would only sit out a total of four games – three games for violation of the league's substance abuse policy and one because he was placed on the roster exempt list by San Diego. If Jackson returns to the Chargers, he has to miss three games on the roster exempt list in addition to the three-game suspension. Agent Neil Schwartz has said multiple times that Jackson is still open to playing for San Diego again if a long-term deal could be worked out.

That situation seems unlikely and the question is really a matter of whether the Chargers will trade Jackson at all. There is some belief San Diego, which also has left tackle Marcus McNeill(notes) sitting out in a contract dispute, will simply hold Jackson. The Chargers may gamble that Jackson, who has refused to sign the one-year restricted free-agent tender of either $3.268 million or the reduced offer of $583,000, will show up for the final six games in order to assure he qualifies for unrestricted free agency this offseason.

The Chargers would then hope to get a compensatory pick (perhaps as high as a third-rounder) in 2012 for Jackson.

The Vikings would likely offer at least a third-round pick in 2011 for Jackson, but it's unclear at this point what Minnesota is willing to do.

Minnesota, which is drastically down from the 29.4 points per game the offense scored last season, has only two pass plays of 20 yards or longer to wide receivers through two games and six such pass plays overall. Last season, the Vikings offense had 35 plays of 20 yards or longer to wide receivers and 55 overall. They also had 13 plays of 40 yards or longer by the passing game. This season, they have none through two games.

The problem for the Vikings is that they have been unable to fill the shoes of Rice, who is expected to miss at least the first six games of the season after having hip surgery during training camp. There is also some fear that Rice, who is scheduled to be a free agent after the season, could be cautious in coming back for fear of injuring himself further.

Rice had 83 catches for 1,312 yards and eight touchdowns last season in his first year with Favre.