Minnesota Vikings Superstar Returning to Practice?

By    |  
Updated:
Follow Us
Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

On Saturday the Minnesota Vikings finished their second of three 2025 preseason games. By design, J.J. McCarthy did not play. Well, none of the starters played, either on offense or defense.

Those guys, at least the healthy ones, did their week two preseason heavy lifting during joint practices (also against the New England Patriots) earlier this week.

The outcome Saturday was rather sloppy, as the MN Vikings tested their quarterbacks and fried different depth lineup combinations throughout the afternoon. The preseason is an NFL proving ground, and there are a lot of players on this 90-man roster with a job to chase and something to prove.

Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

One guy on that roster with absolutely nothing to prove in the NFL preseason, however, is superstar wide receiver, Justin Jefferson. We haven’t seen Justin Jefferson participate with his teammates on the practice fields at TCO Performance Center 23 days.

For those Minnesota Vikings fans and media members paying attention, alarm bells haven’t started ringing just yet. As long as No. 18 is healthy for week one‘s Monday Night Football division matchup against the Chicago Bears, all will be right in the world.

Justin Jefferson eyeing a return

O’Connell already knows the MN Vikings are going to be thin at wide receiver for a bit, with Jordan Addison’s three week suspension kicking in week one of the regular season.

Things go even worse when Rondale Moore went down for the season. And most recently, Jalen Nailor hurt his wrist at practice, putting his availability the rest of training camp and into the season up in the air too.

Thankfully ESPN’s Kevin Seifert is suggesting Saturday afternoon that, based on what KOC said at the podium, Justin Jefferson is nearing a return to practice.

Related: Latest Vikings News Could Connect Them with a Pro Bowl WR

To say the Vikings wide receiver situation is suboptimal would be putting it lightly. Still, it never made sense for Jefferson to play in the preseason whether he was healthy or not. And since his injury, the Vikings’ extra-cautious approach toward their best and highest-paid player has been more than warranted.

Minnesota travels to Tennessee next week for their final preseason game. Jefferson isn’t going to compete there either, but a looming return this week, where the Vikings will also be visitors for two more joint practices, this time in Tennessee vs the Titans, it’s possible we see him get competitive reps at some point.

Even with the return of Justin Jefferson, the MN Vikings are expected to be on the hunt for another wide receiver this week. Given all of the ties Odell Beckham Jr has to this roster and coaching staff, is it possible OBJ is the missing piece… especially while Addison is out? We will see…

Minnesota Vikings need Justin Jefferson healthy

The 22nd overall pick during the 2020 NFL Draft, Justin Jefferson has ascended to near-Hall of Fame consideration in record time, earning him a gaudy contract extension last offseason.

After his new deal, though, nothing changed with Jefferson, especially on the field.,, where he produced his third season of 1,500+ receiving yards and tied a career high, with 10 touchdowns.

Related: What We Learned About the MN Vikings in Sloppy Preseason Showing vs Patriots

Through five NFL seasons, the LSU alum has never failed to surpass 1,000 receiving yards, even busting past it back in 2023, when he played only 10 games.

Jefferson’s 1,809 yards led the league in 2022, which earned him AP Offensive Player of the Year honors. The 26-year-old superstar has been named to four Pro Bowls and he’s twice been named a first-team All-Pro.

Mentioned in this article:

More About:

0What do you think?Post a comment.