From Tampa Tom (@PatriotTrollG):
Tom, I believe Jefferson will be on the Minnesota Vikings’ roster for the foreseeable future.
Minnesota’s built it’s offense over the past few years where they’d go into this season capable of supporting a rookie quarterback. The Vikings have an offensive line anchored by tackles Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill, and have skill-position talent such as Jefferson, Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson, and Aaron Jones, who they signed in free agency. Minnesota also has a solid quarterbacking infrastructure from coach Kevin O’Connell to OC Wes Phillips to QBs coach Josh McCown.
Trading Jefferson would make the whole thing pretty wobbly for a young quarterback the Vikings pick in two weeks, presuming they find a way to get one.
Now, that’s not to say that this will be easy. Jefferson was eligible for a deal a year ago. He’s since incurred another year of injury risk sustained a hamstring injury, causing him to miss seven games. The quarterback uncertainty would—for a guy with Jefferson’s goals—have to be a factor, too. And over the past two years, since the explosion of deals in 2022 (Davante Adams, Tyreek Hill, A.J. Brown, etc.), the receiver market hasn’t moved much, meaning there’s a correction coming, especially given what we’ve seen happen with defensive lineman.
So where’s the number for Jefferson? It’s sky high, for sure, and more than $30 million per year. It’s going to be a challenge to get a deal done, but one I think the Vikings dive headlong into after the draft, with the goal of making sure Jefferson is on the roster for a long time to come.
