A rough start to the 2023 NFL campaign for the Minnesota Vikings just got a little bit tougher. The club announced Tuesday morning that All-Pro WR Justin Jefferson will be placed on the IR, sidelining him for at least the next 4 games due to a hamstring injury.
Jefferson is believed to have sustained the injury in the 4th quarter of Sunday’s 27-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, and will now be out until at least Week 10 vs. New Orleans. The exact timeline for his recovery remains to be seen.
On Monday head coach Kevin O’Connell told reporters “We’re going to have to medically make a good decision and help almost protect him from himself a little bit in a way where we’ve got to take care of him and get him back to 100 percent.”
The 24 year old is currently in the 4th year of his rookie contract, and is scheduled to make $19.7M next year on his 5th year option. The club and Jefferson’s camp had previously begun negotiations on an extension in the offseason, before breaking off talks a few weeks prior to the start of the season.
Despite sitting out the end of the Chiefs game, Jefferson currently leads the NFL in receiving yards (543), is second in receptions (33), and third in targets (47). The 2022 Offensive Player of the Year is the focal point of the Vikings offense, and up until this week, had never missed a game due to injury.
In his absence, rookie Jordan Addison and K.J. Osborn figure to see more targets, with TE T.J. Hockenson likely in line for an uptick in looks as well. The injury however couldn’t have come at a worse time for Minnesota who currently sit at 1-4 on the season.
The Vikings have 3 of their next 4 games on the road as the team travels to Chicago, Green Bay, and Atlanta, and also have to play host to the NFC leading San Francisco 49ers during that stretch as well.
To say that the next handful of games are make or break for the club is an understatement. Not only do they have two pivotal NFC North showdowns on the slate, but the NFL trade deadline (Oct. 31st) is just around the corner as well. Should the team stumble and drop two or more of their next three contests, then one would have to assume that Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will be an active participant in shipping off veteran parts at the deadline.
That veteran group could include the likes of Osborn, Danielle Hunter, and even quarterback Kirk Cousins. All of whom have deals set to expire at the end of the season.
Granted, Cousins has a full no-trade clause which he could exercise should he choose, but with several notable franchises seeming to be “a quarterback away” from contending, the 35 year old may opt for a deep playoff run rather than sleepwalking through the remainder of the 2023 campaign in Minnesota.
One such contender could be the New York Jets, who currently sit at 2-3, but have all the tools, minus a signal caller, to contend in the AFC.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: All-Pro Reels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.