There was little doubt that the Minnesota Vikings would sign superstar wide receiver Justin Jefferson to a long-term contract extension, but that didn’t stop other NFL teams from inquiring about a trade for the 2022 NFL Offensive Player of the Year.
Before Jefferson inked a monster deal with the Vikings on Monday, at least three teams called Minnesota before the 2024 NFL Draft about the 24-year-old’s availability. Suffice it to say, the Vikings had zero interest in moving their best player.
The San Francisco 49ers, New York Jets and Indianapolis Colts all tried their hand at striking a deal for Jefferson, Adam Schefter said on his podcast on Tuesday.
“Every team that called the Vikings before the draft was told ‘we’re not trading him,'” Schefter said. “The conversations went nowhere with anybody.”
Shortly after announcing the deal on Monday, Schefter hinted at teams asking Minnesota about the three-time All-Pro.
“There were multiple teams this off-season that inquired about trading for Justin Jefferson, per league sources,” Schefter said. “The Vikings let each one of them know, in no uncertain terms, that they had zero intention of trading Jefferson and the conversations ended right then and there.”
It’s no surprise that the Vikings quickly shut down any team interested in acquiring Jefferson, nor is it shocking to see teams taking a chance at arguably the league’s best receiver. It’s likely the Niners, Jets and Colts all knew that it would take a miracle for the Vikings to part with Jefferson, but it didn’t hurt to ask nor was it a waste of time considering Minnesota immediately slammed the door on any potential deal.
Vikings hope Jefferson can make new QB’s job easier
Although not publicly said, it’s reasonable to think that the Vikings were ok with moving on from Kirk Cousins knowing they have solid skill position players on offense for the next QB to throw to. Justin Jefferson leads that pack and has the talent to make any quarterback look great.
Minnesota signed 2018 No. 3 pick Sam Darnold in March to presumably be their starting QB in 2024. A month later, the Vikings selected who they believe is their quarterback of the future J.J. McCarthy with the 10th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The Vikings’ offense will revolve around Jefferson regardless of who is under center and last season gave Minnesota a glimpse into how that would work without Cousins. Jefferson played five games without Cousins in 2023 and still averaged over 100 receiving yards per game.
His numbers were down compared to five games with Cousins in which he recorded three games with at least 149 yards, but the recipe for success is there.
Having Jefferson attend OTAs with a happy and fresh attitude after he missed time due to injury last season is crucial for the Vikings. If he can quickly build a rapport with Darnold and McCarthy, it will make Minnesota’s game plan much easier to devise.
Justin Jefferson ready to take leadership role
He wanted to be the league’s highest-paid pass-catcher. He’s not only that, but Jefferson is now the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history on the back of his four-year, $140 million extension.
Jefferson knows that with such a title comes certain expectations and responsibilities. Speaking to the media on Tuesday for the first time since signing his new deal, Jefferson acknowledged his desire to become the leader in the locker room.
“I’m going to make sure that I’m the leader of this team and we’re working to where we want to go, which is a world championship,” Jefferson said, per Ben Goessling. “I’m excited for my family, excited for my friends, so excited for all the people that supported me, but we’re definitely just getting started.”
