The Minnesota Vikings' search for wide receivers to bolster their paltry passing game has led to Hank Baskett, who signed with the team Wednesday.
Baskett was released Tuesday by the Philadelphia Eagles.
Minnesota (0-2) is ranked 24th in the NFL in passing offense after ranking eighth a year ago, and only one team -- the Buffalo Bills -- has scored fewer points in the first two weeks of the season.
Injuries and exodus have weakened the Vikings' aerial game. Quarterback Brett Favre's two favorite targets, Sidney Rice and Percy Harvin, are battling health issues, and the departure of running back Chester Taylor, who caught 44 passes last season, to the Chicago Bears in free agency leaves the quarterback without his third-down safety valve.
Minnesota has three healthy receivers -- Bernard Berrian, Greg Lewis and Greg Camarillo -- but none of them have the size or skill of the 6-foot-4 Rice, who has been sidelined by a hip injury that he suffered during preseason and isn't expected to return for at least another month.
Harvin practiced little with the Vikings during the preseason because of migraine headaches, and he aggravated his strained right hip during Sunday's 14-10 loss to the Miami Dolphins. Vikings coach Brad Childress said Monday that an MRI revealed no structural damage, but Harvin's status this week against the NFC North rival Detroit Lions isn't certain.
The Vikings also have been linked to suspended San Diego Chargers receiver Vincent Jackson, who came to an agreement with the NFL last week that, if he is traded by Wednesday, his suspension from two drunken-driving arrests and being roster exempt would be reduced from six to four games. That would make him eligible to play in Minnesota's Oct. 17 game against the Dallas Cowboys.
Baskett, who joined the Eagles as a rookie in 2006 and re-signed this year after one season with the Indianapolis Colts, was released to make room for running back Joique Bell, whom Philadelphia signed off the Buffalo Bills' practice squad.
Baskett was active for the Eagles' first two games this season, but he didn't have a catch. He has 76 receptions for 1,080 yards and six touchdowns in his NFL career.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
