Vikings Keeping Justin Jefferson Informed About Quarterback Decisions This Offseason

The Vikings are keeping the face of their franchise in the loop during a critical year.

Jan 7, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson (18) looks up / Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports

The Vikings are in the middle of their most important offseason in years. It's already been a period of substantial change, with Kirk Cousins joining the Falcons in free agency after six seasons as Minnesota's starting quarterback. Danielle Hunter, the team's best defensive player, is also gone. GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O'Connell are now less than a month away from a draft where they're widely expected to select a quarterback of the future in the first round.

Looming over the offseason is the fact that the face of the Vikings' franchise, superstar receiver Justin Jefferson, is still without a contract extension that would ensure he remains in Minnesota for years to come. Negotiations have been ongoing since last year, when Jefferson first became eligible for a new deal. The price has only gone up after a season where he got injured for the first time but still managed over 1,000 yards in just eight full games.

The Vikings have made it clear that they want to sign Jefferson long-term and have not even considered trading him. There's been no indication that Jefferson wants out, even now that Cousins is gone, but he certainly has a very keen and vested interest in the franchise's replacement plans at the quarterback position. Earlier this week at the NFL Owner's Meetings in Orlando, O'Connell acknowledged that he's been keeping Jefferson in the loop on that front.

"I think it's important, as impactful as Justin is, not only on our offense, our organization — it makes no sense for me to talk about the communication and the relationships I've built with all of our players and then not at least engage with our guys throughout this process," he said. "Because you don't want them to feel like they're not involved and they're just showing up to whatever team we've put together. I think the important part is Justin feels (like) a part of the process, engaging with us, engaging with me, and he's aware of not only our short term, but our long term part of our plans for our organization. Why? Because he's part of both of those things as well. Excited to continue that with him throughout this offseason."

Jefferson had a good relationship with Cousins, who helped him put up record-shattering numbers over the last four years. But he also proved late last year that he can put up similar numbers with someone like Nick Mullens throwing him the ball. Jefferson obviously understands that the Vikings were never close to Super Bowl contention during the Cousins era, and that this new path at QB — while risky — could ultimately lead them to greater heights.

The longer this offseason lasts without Jefferson signing an extension, the more nervous Vikings fans will justifiably become. But at least for now, there's still plenty of reason to believe that the two sides will get a deal done at some point before the regular season begins.

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