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Vikings WR Justin Jefferson scored for the third straight game in Sunday's victory over Houston. He was one of four Minnesota players to catch TD passes from QB Sam Darnold in the victory. Jefferson led the team in targets (8), receptions (6), and yards (81).
The Vikings plan on WR Justin Jefferson (quad) being a "full-go" vs. the Texans today, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. Jefferson was left off the final injury report after putting in a full practice on Friday, so this latest report is just confirmation that the quad contusion won't be an issue today. Jefferson, of course, is a must-start.
Vikings WR Justin Jefferson (quad) is not listed on the final Week 3 injury report. He practiced all week, including a full workout on Friday. Jefferson will be ready for his usual role in Sunday’s game vs. the Texans.
Vikings WR Justin Jefferson (quad) is "on track" to play vs. the Texans this weekend, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Jefferson participated in Wednesday's walkthrough. We'll continue to keep an eye on his status over the next few days, but we're projecting Jefferson for a full slate of snaps in the Week 3 Rankings.
Vikings WR Justin Jefferson came into the facilities on Monday "feeling pretty good," HC Kevin O'Connell said. Jefferson was knocked out of the Week 2 win over the 49ers with a quad contusion. O'Connell labeled him "day-to-day" and sounded optimistic about his chances of playing vs. the Texans this weekend, according to The Minnesota Star Tribune's Ben Goessling. We'll keep a close eye on Jefferson's status throughout this week, but he can stay penciled into Week 3 fantasy lineups for now.
Vikings WR Justin Jefferson suffered a quad contusion in the Week 2 win over the 49ers, HC Kevin O'Connell said afterward. “It’s pretty sore but he’s already up and moving," O'Connell added. "We’ll treat that thing and hopefully he’ll be day to day.”
Vikings WR Justin Jefferson left in the third quarter of Sunday's game vs. the 49ers with an apparent leg injury. He eventually made his way back to the locker room with trainers. We'll update Jefferson's status as soon as we know more.
Update: Jefferson is officially questionable to return with a quad injury.
Vikings WR Jordan Addison has been ruled out with a right ankle injury for Week 2. Addison injured his left ankle during training camp and dealt with that injury for most of camp. In Week 1, Addison injured his right ankle and did not practice all week.
Vikings WR Justin Jefferson had four receptions for 59 yards and a 3 yard TD in the second quarter. He was the primary target for Sam Darnold, especially with teammate Jordan Addison leaving the game with an ankle injury.
The Vikings announced Wednesday that QB J.J. McCarthy will miss the entire 2024 season. Surgery on the meniscus in the rookie's right knee revealed that he needed a full repair.
The Vikings are signing WR Justin Jefferson to a four-year extension, according to NFL Network. The $140 million deal includes $110 million in guarantees and will make him the highest-paid non-QB in the league.
Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson admitted recently that he has no timetable for return from last year's multi-ligament knee injury. Hockenson tore his right MCL and ACL on December 24. The MCL injury delayed the ACL surgery until January 29, pushing back Hockenson's timeline. He'll be just a little over seven months removed from surgery come Week 1.
Vikings WR Justin Jefferson did not report for the start of the team's offseason program on Monday. He's entering the final year of his rookie deal and is (rightfully) looking for a big contract extension. “I’ve had a lot of great dialogue with Justin throughout even the early part of this offseason and leading up,” HC Kevin O’Connell said. “My hope is we can get him around the team. Obviously such a special player, but it goes beyond that this time of year because of just the energy and flat-out way he goes to work.” We'll see where these contract negotiations go and how long Jefferson stays away from the team. We'll also see if the Vikings add a QB early in the draft later this month. Despite those issues, Jefferson still sits fourth among WRs in our current 2024 fantasy football rankings.
The Vikings acquired the 23rd overall pick of this year's draft -- plus pick No. 232 -- from the Texans in exchange for picks 42, 188, and a 2025 second-rounder. Minnesota now holds the 11th and 23rd overall picks in the draft. The obvious conclusion here is that the Vikings are stockpiling ammo to make a move up for a QB. They'd likely need to trade into the top three to land Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, or Drake Maye. Or they could make a smaller move up for J.J. McCarthy. Any of those guys would be good news for the short and long-term fantasy outlooks of WR Justin Jefferson, WR Jordan Addison, and TE T.J. Hockenson. QB Sam Darnold currently tops Minnesota's depth chart.
The Vikings and QB Sam Darnold agreed to a one-year deal worth "up to" $10 million, NFL Network reports. That's more than "backup money" but doesn't necessarily guarantee Darnold the 2024 starting job. Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall are the other QBs currently on the roster, but Minnesota could certainly add a rookie in April's draft. It's been a popular landing spot for Michigan's J.J. McCarthy in mock drafts. Darnold attempted 46 passes for the 49ers last year, with 26 of them coming in a meaningless regular-season finale. He started 17 games for the Panthers across the 2021 and 2022 seasons, completing 59.5% of his passes at 6.7 yards per attempt -- right around his career averages. Darnold would be a significant downgrade from QB Kirk Cousins for Minnesota's pass catchers.
Vikings WR Justin Jefferson hauled in 12 of 14 targets for a season-high 192 receiving yards and a TD in Week 18 vs. the Lions. The veteran’s 192 yards from Sunday stand as the second-highest total of his four-year career and the fifth time this season that Jefferson exceeded the 100-yard threshold. Having only played 10 games in 2023 due to a hamstring injury, the fact that Jefferson hit the century mark in half of his games speaks to his level of dominance. He should continue to be among the very elite WRs in dynasty formats moving forward. The only big question looming over the Vikings is who will play QB next season, but a player of Jefferson’s caliber should be fine no matter the outcome on that front.
The Vikings have announced that QB Jaren Hall will start over Nick Mullens this Sunday night against the Packers. That comes after Mullens tossed 4 INTs in a 6-point Week 16 loss to Detroit. HC Kevin O'Connell originally had Hall as the backup to Kirk Cousins and started the fifth-round rookie in the first game after Cousins' season-ending injury. But O'Connell then stuck with QB Joshua Dobbs even after Hall returned from his concussion, and then rolled out Mullens after Dobbs' 4-INT turn against Chicago. This week's move says O'Connell believes Hall to be a better option than Mullens. But the rookie clearly remains unproven. He has thrown just 10 regular-season passes. The preseason found him completing just 54.2% of his passes at 5.5 yards per attempt. Hall does bring above-average speed for the position and topped 300 rushing yards in each of his final two seasons at BYU. But starting a QB in what would be his first full NFL game would obviously be very risky. The bigger question is what the switch does to WR outlooks. We'd still start Justin Jefferson comfortably. K.J. Osborn, meanwhile, is tougher to like inside WR3 territory. (He already landed as a WR4 in our Week 17 rankings.)
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