I heard rumblings Tuesday that the Vikings might be in pursuit of free-agent wide receiver Kelley Washington so I checked it out.

What's that saying about where there's smoke, there's fire?

The Vikings do at least have an interest in the veteran, according to NFL sources. That does not mean something definitely will happen but clearly the Vikings have been looking to bring in competition at the receiver position.

Washington spent last season with Baltimore, catching a career-high 34 passes for 431 yards with two touchdowns. A third-round pick of Cincinnati in 2003, Washington played four seasons for the Bengals and two for New England before joining the Ravens.

The Vikings are set to enter training camp with 10 wide receivers, including a top three of Sidney Rice, Bernard Berrian and Percy Harvin. Rice, however, is battling a lingering hip injury and it's unclear how much work he will be able to do at the start of camp.

The remainder of the depth chart includes Taye Biddle (second year); Marquis Hamilton (rookie); Jaymar Johnson (second year); Greg Lewis (eighth year); Marko Mitchell (second year); Logan Payne (first year); and Ray Small (rookie).

Mitchell was acquired in June when Detroit placed him on waivers. The Vikings had tried to get him earlier in the spring when Washington waived Mitchell but the Lions had priority on the wire because of their record last season.