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Justin Jefferson #18 of the Minnesota Vikings looks on against the Seattle Seahawks.
Justin Jefferson has always been a team player and has never had an elite quarterback throwing him the football since joining the Minnesota Vikings, but the franchise sticking with JJ McCarthy for too much longer without results may prove a bridge too far.
Jefferson inked a $140 million extension and is under contract through 2028, when he will play at 29 years old. With three years remaining on his deal and only one season seriously impacted by McCarthy’s injury problems, inconsistent play and growing pains, Jefferson is not making any noise about wanting out of Minnesota.
The seriousness with which ownership took the QB issues last season and its resulting decision to fire former GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, plus Kevin O’Connell’s public assurances that the team will bring in veteran competition for McCarthy , have probably gone some distance toward placating Jefferson with the knowledge that things under center will get better soon.
That could mean McCarthy as the starter, or it could mean with someone else captaining the offense.
However, Zach Gelb predicted that things will get ugly in Minnesota if the team sticks with McCarthy and Jefferson suffers another down statistical campaign on top of the Vikings missing the playoffs again.
Vikings Probably Lost Some of Justin Jefferson’s Trust Via Sam Darnold Decision
GettyQuarterback Sam Darnold of the Seattle Seahawks.
Gelb made his case on Friday, February 27 via 365 Sports.
Justin Jefferson, if he keeps on seeing this crap year in and year out from the quarterback position, and his play starts to dip and his numbers start to dip, like what we just saw this past year, guess what Justin Jefferson is gonna say? “I need to go. I need out.” And that should be the Minnesota Vikings’ biggest fear, is Justin Jefferson one day requesting a trade.
If you go back to battle this year with JJ McCarthy, I think Jefferson will support McCarthy. But if it doesn’t work … I think Justin Jefferson gonna force his way out.
Because he’s gonna sit there and say, “Guys we had in this building Sam Darnold. We had in this building Daniel Jones. Sam has had success with the Seahawks. Daniel Jones has had some success with the Colts. You could have, for the last two offseasons, got maybe Aaron Rodgers [or] Kyler Murray. And you guys just stuck with McCarthy. I don’t believe in you anymore.”
Signing Kirk Cousins, Geno Smith May Not Be Enough for Justin Jefferson
GettyQuarterback Kirk Cousins, formerly of the Minnesota Vikings.
The Vikings’ fear of alienating Jefferson could, and perhaps should, also extend to the decision they make this offseason about who to bring in to compete for the starting quarterback job.
Kirk Cousins and Geno Smith are popular guesses if the team goes what Alec Lewis of The Athletic described as the “tepid route.” Both players have multiple Pro Bowls on their resumés, and Cousins is familiar with Jefferson, O’Connell’s system and several people still in the locker room, on the coaching staff and in the front office.
But convincing Jefferson that Minnesota can compete for a Super Bowl via a reunion with Cousins or the acquisition of Smith after the two of them led the NFL in interceptions in 2024 and 2025, respectively, and are both in their late 30s is going to be a tough sell, indeed.
Trying to sign Malik Willis in free agency or trade with Indianapolis for Anthony Richardson might not profile as a championship play either, but those would be good-faith moves that Minnesota should at least consider while trying to keep Jefferson interested in eventually retiring with the Vikings.
Max Dible covers the NFL, NBA and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. He covered local and statewide news as a reporter for West Hawaii Today and served as news director for BigIslandNow.com and Pacific Media Group’s family of Big Island radio stations before joining Heavy. More about Max Dible
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