All eyes were on Justin Jefferson. Such is the case when a player is among the game’s elite talents.
The Vikings announced that the WR1 will try to roll for the Week 5 game down in New Orleans. Or, at least, that he’s questionable going into the game, meaning that Jefferson is very likely going to push to play: “Final #Vikings Week 5 injury report: OUT: Christian Darrisaw and Chuck Demmings. QUESTIONABLE: Jordan Addison, Justin Jefferson, Michael Jurgens*, Brian O’Neill and Ben Yurosek*.”
Note that Jurgens and Yurosek need to get activated off the IR to be eligible to play. Minnesota has yet to officially make the call but will need to do so this weekend.
The Vikings Announce the Justin Jefferson News
The bad news is that Darrisaw isn’t going to be able to go, but that was the expectation.
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As a result, the Vikings’ offensive line will begin (from left to right) with Ryan Van Demark, Joe Huber, Blake Brandel, Will Fries, and Brian O’Neill. Some of the key depth pieces are Caleb Tiernan, Trevor Keegan, and Henry Byrd (though he’s on the practice squad).
As it relates to Justin Jefferson, the expectation should be that he’ll probably play.
Kevin O’Connell said in his Friday presser that Jefferson progressed through the week and looked good in practice. The sense the skipper gave is that Minnesota wants to ensure there are no setbacks and/or issues that arise after getting some good work in practice. Provided things go well, then Jefferson should be out there.
The receiver’s stats have been modest, sitting at 13 catches for 179 yards and 2 touchdowns. Looking around the NFL means seeing Jefferson’s catches in a tie for 76th, Jefferson’s yards in a tie for 61st, and Jefferson’s touchdowns in a tie for 17th.
Essentially, nowhere close to good enough.
Obviously, there’s ample context surrounding those modest stats that need to be considered. Minnesota has been involved in just four games overall, one of which came in a wild rainstorm. And then there have been the quarterback injuries alongside to injury to Justin Jefferson himself. Combine these factors and air yards have been hard to come by.
The Vikings will obviously be looking to pull off the win in Week 5 regardless of the WR1’s status. Doing so will mean climbing up to 5-0 as the players get to take some time off during the bye.
What remains to be seen is if the other NFC teams cooperate. Put differently, if the Seahawks can overcome the 49ers, then Minnesota will stand alone as the last remaining unbeaten team in the conference. Not too shabby.
Justin Jefferson, 27, is working from within his seventh NFL season.