Justin Jefferson Absent From Vikings’ OTAs
CeeDee Lamb has made the decision to avoid the Cowboys until a long-term agreement is negotiated. The same is still true for Justin Jefferson, another wide receiver trying to get close to or into the elite of the market for his position.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Jefferson is not with the Vikings as their organized team activities get underway. It should come as no surprise that the 2022 Offensive Player of the Year missed the start of Minnesota’s summer program last month. As extension negotiations continue, Jefferson makes his decision.
This summer, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah stated that the parties were on the verge of reaching an understanding the previous year. Ultimately, however, the negotiations were halted; they recommenced for a short while after the 2023 campaign ended. The team put things on hold for a while as focus shifted to the draft, but now they’re back on track to reach a profitable agreement.
Jefferson made a compelling case to sign the most valuable receiver contract in the league after having the most productive three-year start to a career in NFL history. A hamstring issue kept the 24-year-old from playing in more than 10 games in 2024, but he still finished with a 68-1,074-5 statline. With first-round pick J.J. McCarthy set up to take over as the starting quarterback in the future and Sam Darnold in place as a bridge option, Kirk Cousins is no longer the quarterback for Minnesota.
Regarding Cousins, there are a lot of unanswered questions about both of those signal-callers, but going ahead, Jefferson will still be expected to be among the best playmakers in the league. The three-time Pro Bowler will exercise his fifth-year option in 2024, for which he is owed $19.74MM. Although a multi-year investment at a significantly higher rate still seems like a matter of mutual interest, a franchise tag might be an option for the upcoming year.
The highest receiver contract in terms of yearly salary has been topped by Tyreek Hill’s $30MM-per-year Dolphins agreement. A.J. Brown (Eagles) and Amon-Ra St. Brown (Lions) have both surpassed that amount on mega-contracts of their own; Brown’s is $32MM per season with $51MM completely guaranteed at signing. Jefferson is poised to leverage his success into a comparable contract, along with Lamb and Bengals star Ja’Marr Chase. It will be intriguing to
