Vikings Insider: Opportunity knocking for receiver cast off by Bears

Can he be a star?

This is the question you ask about Devin Aromashodu. It's hard not to when his potential flashes like a marquee on the Vegas strip.

Maybe it's a highlight, like the one Aromashodu delivered two weeks ago, making a diving 34-yard touchdown catch with Chiefs cornerback Brandon Carr fastened to his hip.

Or maybe it's something simpler but still game-changing, like the crossing pattern grab he made 17 yards downfield last week against Arizona, losing his man and then sprinting for 43 more yards.

Can he be a star?

You're not the only one asking.

"Can Devin be a star in the NFL?" Vikings receivers coach George Stewart wonders aloud. "Right now, I see a young man who's fast, athletic, driven. He makes plays when we throw him the football. He does an outstanding job when we ask him to block on the perimeter. He's contributing on special teams. I think he has all the tools."

Six feet, 2 inches tall. Fast. Athletic. Smart.

Stewart loved all he saw and still remembers the exchange. Call it prediction more than premonition.

"I told Devin face to face, 'I will coach you one day,'" Stewart says.

So why does the path to stardom seem to wind like a cheap, tangled garden hose? How is that Aromashodu is now in his sixth NFL season, seemingly always on the verge of a major breakout but often hitting an electric fence?

The Dolphins had him in training camp. The Texans and Redskins each found spots for him on their practice squads. The Colts activated him for six games in 2007. And Chicago, the Vikings' opponent Sunday night, put Aromashodu in the spotlight -- first as a rising star, then as a missing person.

Some reports say the Bears coaching staff questioned Aromashodu's blocking desire and overall toughness and never got past that. But there's also a perception he caught a raw deal. Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, for one, seemed to love Aromashodu's size, strength and understanding of the offense.

"To this day, I still don't really know what happened," Aromashodu says. "I never got a clear answer. I couldn't focus on it then because I had the season to worry about. And there's no reason to focus on it now. Because I'm here in Minnesota."

It would be a stretch to say there were attitude problems. Aromashodu seemed to accept his fate in Chicago with grace.

"We had an incredibly successful season," he says. "Why ignore that and complain about how everything went for me?"

So maybe it was just consistency?

All of it leads to Sunday night -- not just to Aromashodu's return to Soldier Field but to a window of opportunity to become a reliable playmaker for a Vikings receiving corps so badly needing one.

Aromashodu says he doesn't feel a clock ticking on his career. But it's there. He's 27, in his sixth year. The window won't stay open forever.

Behind the scenes, Stewart lauds Aromashodu's intelligence and willingness to learn. The progress remains evident daily.

"Devin has the ability to make the moment-of-truth catch," Stewart says. "You know those catches, where people come out of their seats, eyes wide open? Devin makes those plays. He's shown that the last two weeks. And that's what I saw in him at Auburn."

A knock of opportunity comes again Sunday night in the form of that question: Can he be a star?