Justin Jefferson Injury Updates | Shark Bites

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 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.

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) remained limited in Friday's practice. He told reporters afterward that he's not sure if he'll play vs. the Bears on Monday night. "I'm not sure. We'll see," Jefferson said. "We're going to weigh the options correctly, making sure that I'm feeling well and prepared to play a game, and if I'm feeling good, I will play." We continue to expect Jefferson to sit out through Minnesota's Week 13 bye. But we'll see how he's listed on the final injury report tomorrow.

Vikings WR Justin Jefferson appears unlikely to play Sunday against the Broncos. ESPN's Kevin Seifert reports that Jefferson is "continuing to ramp up" in his return from a hamstring injury "but would need to make a lot of quick progress to play Sunday night." That doesn't mean he's out for the week just yet. But you'll need to plan as though you won't have Jefferson in your fantasy lineup. We'll be watching throughout the rest of the week for more updates on the star WR. For now, we've knocked him out of our Week 11 WR rankings and adjusted the projections for teammates such as QB Joshua Dobbs (down) and TE T.J. Hockenson (up).

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports that the Vikings don't expect to get WR Justin Jefferson back from his hamstring injury this week. Jefferson is eligible to return for Sunday's game against the Saints after missing the past four contests. But it sounds like he'll need at least one more week of recovery time. That obviously leaves targets available for the other Minnesota pass catchers, albeit in a more difficult matchup than last week's vs. Atlanta.

Vikings HC Kevin O'Connell said Monday the team is "working through" when WR Justin Jefferson will return from the hamstring injury that has him on IR, according to The Athletic's Alec Lewis. O'Connell did promise an update Wednesday, so we should at least have a good idea of Jefferson's chances before setting any Week 10 lineups. But if your league runs waivers on Tuesday night, approach them as though you'll be missing Jefferson again this week.

Vikings QB Kirk Cousins is feared to have torn his Achilles in Sunday's win over the Packers, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. It's typically easy for doctors to diagnose a torn Achilles without any imaging. We should get confirmation tomorrow, but Cousins' 2023 season is very likely over. His absence would leave Minnesota with QBs Jaren Hall and Sean Mannion. QB Nick Mullens is currently on IR with a back injury but is eligible to return. Regardless, Cousins' injury is horrible news for Minnesota's skill-position players.

Vikings WR Justin Jefferson is expected to miss 4-6 weeks with his hamstring injury, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports. More specifically, Jefferson will undergo more imaging on that hamstring in four weeks to determine when he can return. Schefter then adds this: "Minnesota needs to help itself in the standings to ensure [Jefferson] will return. ... If the Vikings are unable to remain competitive, Jefferson would be expected to consider the reality that he and the organization did not come to an agreement on a long-term contract extension before this season." It's not the first time that Schefter has suggested that Jefferson might opt to remain out even after he's medically cleared. He's still worth keeping stashed on fantasy benches while we see how this plays out.

The Vikings will be placing WR Justin Jefferson on IR for the hamstring injury that knocked him out of Sunday's loss to the Chiefs. That means he'll miss at least the next four games. Jefferson's absence will obviously leave a bunch of targets for his Vikings teammates. Jefferson drew 47 through the first four games, 30% of QB Kirk Cousins' total attempts over that span. That makes rookie WR Jordan Addison a weekly starting candidate over the next month. He drew a season-high 9 targets in the K.C. game, reaching 6 receptions for the second time in three weeks. It also makes WR K.J. Osborn worth picking up in many leagues. But there's also a chance Jefferson's absence shifts the offensive approach. Minnesota leads the league in pass attempts through five weeks, sits tied for the lead in pass rate, and ranks third in pass rate over expected. Losing Jefferson figures to hurt the offense overall and could push a little more work to the running game. We're certainly not upgrading RB Alexander Mattison for this, but we'll be watching the offense's reaction over the next couple of weeks. Cousins clearly loses upside with the absence of arguably the league's best WR. Fortunately for him -- and fantasy managers -- the Vikings visit a bad Bears defense in the first game without Jefferson. That will help everyone's fantasy outlooks. An ominous Monday night date with the 49ers waits on the other side of that, however.