MARCH 13: Kirk Cousins‘ free agency departure for Atlanta has not changed Minnesota’s plans with Jefferson. The team is not considering a blockbuster trade involving its elite wide receiver, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini and Alec Lewis note. The All-Pro undoubtedly served as a key selling point for Sam Darnold, who is positioned — before the draft, at least — to take over for Cousins.
FEBRUARY 27: The Vikings made a late push to extend Justin Jefferson last offseason, and while both sides made it clear that they were fine with tabling talks until this year, that hasn’t stopped pundits from speculating on a potential divorce. Head coach Kevin O’Connell was quick to dismiss those rumors, stating during an appearance on PFT Live that the organization has no intention of trading their star wideout.
[RELATED: Justin Jefferson Wants To Remain With Vikings]
“I can tell you we have no intent to trade Justin Jefferson,” O’Connell said (via Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com). “We have had zero discussions, dialogue about that either internally, externally, on this planet or another planet. I feel very strongly that Justin is best in his position in football. Any time you’re trying to reset the receiver market — we know who he is, we know what Justin’s earned through his first four years in this league — you know how hard it is. . . . It was never gonna be something that was just be easy to get done, but the intent was there. The intent is still stronger than ever to get something done with Justin.”
The former first-round pick is set to play the 2024 campaign on his fifth-year option worth $19.74MM, so it’s only natural for both Jefferson and the Vikings to explore an extension. GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah admitted this week that the two sides got “unbelievably close” to an extension last offseason (per ESPN’s Kevin Seifert), and the executive reiterated that the Vikings want Jefferson to stick around Minnesota “for a long time.” Adofo-Mensah also said that any whispers of difficult negotiations were “completely false.”
Jefferson has expressed a desire to re-sign with the Vikings, but it doesn’t sound like he’s overly interested in giving the team a hometown discount. The 2022 first-team All-Pro said he wants to “break the bank,” a hint that he’s looking to surpass the position-leading $30MM average annual value set by Tyreek Hill. Three other WRs are currently making $25MM or more per season (Davante Adams, Cooper Kupp, A.J. Brown), and Jefferson will surely be looking to join that accomplished group with his next contract.
While the organization may be willing to commit to Jefferson’s AAV, it sounds like they’re drawing a line in the sand with the guaranteed money. According to Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com, it’s common for the Vikings organization to only commit to one year of guaranteed money in extensions. However, while that’s been their “typical structure,” the organization did make an exception with tight end T.J. Hockenson, a factor that Jefferson’s camp will presumably point to during negotiations.
After not missing a game through his first three seasons in the NFL, Jefferson was limited to only 10 appearances this past season. He still managed to pass 1,000 yards from scrimmage, and his 107.4 yards per game actually established a new career-high.
The old ‘hometown discount’ is the worst saying ever. You never see coaches, front office staff, or owners giving up their money. Why should the players?
Cap be dang….Not the players job to work around the cap.
Jefferson should go where he wants. But I’ve turned less money a couple of times because I didn’t like the location and/or the type of work.
If I were going to be worth $100M, I can guarantee you stay (assuming he likes Minny).
Justin and his agent need to realize that the club cannot afford to pay him (what he is worth) and also pay Cousins.
Sounds like a Vikings problem and not a Jefferson problem.
You assume Cousins has more value than Jefferson?
Justin and his agent probably realizes he’s gonna reset the market, dude is gonna get 30-35 mill per year after the cap jump
The Vikings know they have to find an heir to Cousins in the next year or two. Few QBs would object to joining a team that has a WR of Jefferson’s ability but if he was not on the Vikings roster, how many QBs would want to go to Minnesota?
Jefferson is going to get PAID on his next contract.
The All-Pro undoubtedly served as a key selling point for Sam Darnold,
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Wait, you need a selling point to sign Darnold?
I’m confident Sam played hard to get for at least the first 15 seconds of the negotiations.
Interpret the statement as Jefferson is destined to get tagged at least once and his relationship with the Front Office will redefine “acrimonious”
IMVHO, this screams out for a trade. Hockenson & Addison are terrific, even if they aren’t Jefferson. Get the draft capital and draft a WR.
It does, but I can also understand why they’d be loathe to make that trade. He could be the best WR in football, and is inarguably a top three- and it will be extremely difficult for Minnesota to get a blockbuster return.
I did hear an interesting trade idea floated on television this morning, however. It would involve trading Jefferson to Cincinnati for Higgins and some 1st round selections.
That reminds me of Chicago cleaning out the Panthers, and then, one more minor player-throw in Moore.
He’s not getting traded! This is ridiculous! He’s good enough that anyone can throw him the ball like last season! He will get paid by MN!
Trading Jefferson would basically be the same as waving the white flag on the season. I don’t think ownership would want to deal with the fan backlash.
They’ll do nothing with Darnold at qb. By trading Jefferson for a multiple draft picks and maybe a player or two would help them rebuild. They’ve put off drafting a qb for far too long and it’s buying them in the butt. Retool this team and get rid of some of the older players. Perfect time to do it. It’s not like they’re SB contenders right now anyway.
No plans to trade him means they’re taking calls on potential trades. Guaranteed.