Justin Jefferson 'doing really well' after injury against 49ers

Jefferson should be on the field to face his former college teammate, cornerback Derek Stingley.

Sep 15, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson (18) warms up before the game against the San Francisco 49ers at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images / Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Justin Jefferson suffered a quad injury in the Vikings' thrilling 23-17 upset victory over the 49ers. It seems like it's a minor issue and head coach Kevin O'Connell on Tuesday spoke to radio announcer Paul Allen and provided another encouraging update.

"[Jefferson] is doing really well, he's responded really well to treatment early on. We'll see how his week kinda progresses," O'Connell said in the KFAN-FM 100.3 interview. Jefferson himself has said that he didn't suffer a serious injury and indicated that he'll take care of his body and be ready to play the Texans Sunday in Minneapolis.

In the interview with O'Connell, Allen mentioned how Jefferson could be motivated to face Stefon Diggs as they have been connected with each other since Minnesota used the first-round pick from Buffalo in the 2020 Diggs trade to draft Jefferson. O'Connell, however, thinks a different Texans player could be motivating Jefferson to have a get on the field and compete: D that a different Texans player could motivate their star wide receiver to suit up: cornerback Derek Stingley Jr.

"I wouldn't discount the Stingley aspect of it either, to the LSU side of things. He's becoming one of the premier [cornerbacks]," O'Connell said. "That'll be before the end of the week, that storyline might materialize between those two guys, I know they're close."

Stingley and Jefferson overlapped for one season at LSU in 2019 when they went 15-0 and won the national championship. Stingley was a true freshman at the time, but it was one of the best cornerback seasons by a freshman in college football history as he led the country with six interceptions and 15 passes defensed.

Jefferson was third in the country in 2019 with 1,540 receiving yards.

Fast forward to the present day, Stingley is in his third NFL season after being selected with the third overall pick in 2022. At 23 years old, he is already one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL. He went head-to-head with Jefferson every day in practice and Sunday will be their first matchup in the NFL.