Short answer: maybe! However, word from Jefferson and HC Kevin O’Connell is that the injury appears, at least for now, to be quite minor. There have been no official practice reports yet, though, so nothing is whatsoever official.
In the third quarter of Sunday’s tilt against the 49ers, Jefferson was blocking for Ty Chandler on a running play when Fred Warner rolled up on Jefferson. He remained there on the field with the trainers’ assistance until they escorted him to the medical tent. He would eventually go to the locker room and be designated as Questionable with a quad injury. Still, he never returned to the game.
For up-to-the-minute details of Jefferson’s quad injury, be sure to check out my Justin Jefferson quad injury live updates column.
For now, let’s get a sense of the landscape leading up to the Vikings’ game against Houston on Sunday.
Most recent update on Jefferson’s quad
As of this writing, the latest update on Jefferson is that he’s day-to-day, according to HC Kevin O’Connell. In his press conference with the media on Monday, KOC offered the following update on Jefferson, according to the team’s official website:
“Justin did come in today feeling pretty good, which was a positive based upon the initial quad contusion that happened on that run play,” head coach Kevin O’Connell said on Monday. “We’ll be day-to-day with Justin and we’ll keep you guys posted throughout the week on his workload and what it looks like for Sunday, but pretty positive in the early returns there.”
I don’t know about the rest of you, but the Christian McCaffrey situation over there in San Francisco has me distrusting coaches and players more than ever when it comes to injuries. It sounds like the Vikings are sending the message that Jefferson is looking good to play this week.
But who knows whether or not that’s actually true.
If Jefferson misses time …
… pick up Jordan Addison, first of all! If only because, already this week, HC Kevin O’Connell says there’s a shot the second-year wide receiver might suit up Sunday in Houston.
It would appear the Vikings, sooner than later, could be in a bit of preserve-longterm-health-of-all-our-championship-window-core mode. But, if Addison’s healthy, he’ll suit up.
In his rookie season with the Vikings in 2023, he played in 17 games and started 14 of them, accumulating 911 yards and 10 touchdowns on 70 receptions. His ten receiving touchdowns tied him with Sam LaPorta for the most among NFL rookies and ranked fourth overall in the league.
My venerable colleague, Zach Thompson, has already come out with his Week 3 Waiver Wire article, in which he details a few pickups worth a look this week. He’s all-in on another Vikings pass-catcher not named Addison…
I also am a huge fan, this week, of picking up Colts WR Alec Pierce (in case I haven’t banged the drum enough yet) as a solid replacement for any injured wideouts. Check out all I had to say about him in my How to replace Cooper Kupp on the waiver wire for Week 3 column.
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