Justin Jefferson Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

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.)

Vikings WR Justin Jefferson is active for today's game vs. the Bengals. Jefferson was taken to the hospital last Sunday after taking a hard hit to the chest, but he dodged any severe injury. Earlier in the week, he said he expects to play a normal allotment of snaps. Check the WR Rankings to see if he cracks WR1 range alongside new QB Nick Mullens.

Vikings WR Justin Jefferson (chest) is listed as questionable for Saturday’s game vs. the Bengals. He practiced all week, including a full workout on Thursday, and is fully expected to play this weekend. Jefferson can be penciled into Week 15 fantasy lineups. Just check back to make sure he’s active around 11:30 am ET on Saturday.

Vikings WR Justin Jefferson told reporters Wednesday that he'll play Saturday against the Bengals. That's not a shock, given the WR practiced (limited) Tuesday -- just two days after sustaining a chest injury in the loss to the Raiders. We have Jefferson projected in the lineup for Week 15 but will certainly watch him throughout the week for any setbacks. Minnesota's switch to Nick Mullens at QB adds risk to the WR's fantasy outlook.

Vikings WR Justin Jefferson (chest) got in a limited practice on Tuesday. It's excellent news that he was out there at all just two days after suffering that chest injury. We're tentatively expecting Jefferson to play vs. the Bengals on Saturday afternoon but will track his status over the next few days.

Vikings HC Kevin O'Connell labeled WR Justin Jefferson "day-to-day" with his chest injury and said Jefferson has a "good chance" to play vs. the Bengals on Saturday, per ESPN's Kevin Seifert. We'll track Jefferson's status throughout the week, but he can be penciled into Week 15 fantasy lineups for now. O'Connell did not announce a starting QB on Monday, but we're projecting Nick Mullens to get the nod.

Vikings WR Justin Jefferson was knocked out in the second quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Raiders with what HC Kevin O’Connell called a "chest internal injury." Jefferson was taken to the hospital as a precaution but will travel with the team back to Minnesota. "Feel pretty encouraged" about the early news, O’Connell added. We should learn more about Jefferson’s status tomorrow. The Vikings get the Bengals at 1 pm ET on Saturday.

Vikings WR Justin Jefferson suffered a chest injury in the second quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Raiders. He took a shot over the middle of the field and landed hard directly on his back. Jefferson is officially questionable to return. Stay tuned for an update.

Update: Jefferson has been ruled out. He was taken to the hospital as a precaution.

Vikings HC Kevin O'Connell doesn't expect there to be any restrictions on WR Justin Jefferson in his first game back from his hamstring injury. "I don’t see any restrictions as far as his ability to go out there and function and play," O'Connell said, adding that he's "expecting to have Justin out there a lot on Sunday.” That doesn't necessarily mean that Jefferson will play a full slate of snaps vs. the Raiders. But, at minimum, we expect him to be out there for the vast majority of pass plays. You'd need to be absolutely loaded at WR to consider keeping Jefferson out of your Week 14 fantasy lineup.

Vikings WR Justin Jefferson (hamstring) put in a full week of practice and isn’t listed on the final injury report for this weekend’s game vs. the Raiders. The Vikings have seemingly been extra cautious bringing Jefferson back from this injury, so we’re expecting him to be a full-go on Sunday. Jefferson sits in must-start territory in our Week 14 WR Rankings.

Vikings WR Justin Jefferson (hamstring) was a full participant in Wednesday's practice. It's confirmation that he's on track to return for this weekend's game vs. the Raiders -- and play his usual role. QB Josh Dobbs, who struggled last time out, adds some risk to Jefferson's profile. But he sits inside the top 10 in our Week 14 WR Rankings.

The Vikings are activating WR Justin Jefferson from IR. He's been out since Week 5 with a hamstring injury but should be ready to play after the team's Week 13 bye. We'll see who's playing QB when Minnesota returns.

Vikings WR Justin Jefferson (hamstring) will not play vs. the Bears tonight, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports. Jefferson is "very close," per Pelissero, but the Vikings will continue to play it safe and hold him out through the Week 13 bye. "Jefferson is expected to be 100% after the bye, practice fully, and play Dec. 10 at Las Vegas," Pelissero adds. Fantasy teams that are all but assured a playoff spot at this point should take one more running at trading for Jefferson this week. He should be an easy WR1 from Week 14 on.

Vikings WR Justin Jefferson (hamstring) is listed as questionable for Monday night's game vs. the Bears after a limited week of practice. It's the same boat he's been in the past two weeks before ending up inactive. We'll look for further updates on Jefferson's status, but we're still expecting him to miss Monday night's game and return after Minnesota's Week 13 bye.