At least Justin Jefferson isn’t done for a long time.
Coming into the Monday presser, the thinking was that Kevin O’Connell’s top issue to address would be the health of the WR1. Maybe the Josh Oliver development could demand some attention, too, given that the hulking TE2 is probably done for the year (as Jeremy Fowler suggests). But then there was the J.J. McCarthy trade to nuke expectations.
All of the sudden, the Minnesota media had a new focus.
Most of O’Connell’s time was spent fending off legitimate questions about moving on from McCarthy. Somewhere within the mentions of “context” and “circumstances,” Coach O’Connell did indicate that Jefferson should get back before too long. In fact, there’s a chance he can go in time for the Week 4 Miami Dolphins game.
Prior to the head coach revealing this info, Ian Rapoport sent the following: “Good news on #Vikings WR Justin Jefferson: He has an ankle sprain and the imaging was good today. He avoided anything long term and there is a chance he plays Sunday.”
Kevin O’Connell Says Justin Jefferson Avoided Serious Injury
As mentioned on the VT YouTube channel earlier today, the Jefferson injury sees Week 6 as a noteworthy checkpoint.
Next up for the Vikings are a home game against the hapless Dolphins in Week 4. There’s then going to be a Week 5 game on the road against the respectable Saints. There’s then going to be a built-in week off in Week 6 as the team’s bye arrives.
Consider, for instance, a situation where the Vikings seek to play things cautiously. Doing so would mean sitting the elite receiver for a pair of games. There could then be the bye to give him even further time off. The Week 7 Colts game at U.S. Bank Stadium would be the return date.
Note that the ankle sprain occurred during the September 27th Buccaneers game. That Colts game arrives on October 25th. So, does it make sense to sacrifice a pair of games to give him close to a month off? That’s the question Kevin O’Connell will need to ask (and answer).
So far, the Vikings’ offense has played poorly. The team is sitting at 3-0 largely due to the specials and defense being elite.
Part of the problem for the Vikings has been injury. Kyler Murray has missed time. Jordan Mason is on the IR. Jefferson got taken out of the Week 3 game and Jauan Jennings missed all of Week 2 due to a personal matter. All of these things make life more difficult.
A brutal reality that nevertheless remains: the Vikings haven’t been close to good enough. Kevin O’Connell knows that’s true. So does anybody who has been watching the games.
Jefferson, 27, has climbed up to 13 catches for 179 yards and 2 touchdowns. His career has shown that the only things capable of slowing him down are atrocious quarterback play and needing to be in the infirmary rather than on the football field. Look to the coming weeks to see both issues — the poor play at quarterback and health — get rectified in Minnesota.