Last week, Justin Jefferson gave Vikings fans a scare after he went down with a right quadriceps contusion. It led to uncertainty regarding his unavailability for the Week 3 game against the Houston Texans, a matchup in which the Vikings will need him if they intend to win.
The highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL brushed aside all doubts regarding his status against the Texans. Justin Jefferson told the reporters, “Oh yeah, for sure.” He will be back on the field on Sunday to help the Vikings improve to 3-0 on the season. It has been a remarkable start for the NFC North team who faced a lot of uncertainty in their first season without Kirk Cousins as quarterback.
But Sam Darnold has filled the void expected to be left by the departure of Cousins. He has developed amazing chemistry with Justin Jefferson and their bond was on display in Week 2 before the wideout’s injury when the duo connected on a 97-yard touchdown play.
Justin Jefferson sustained his quadriceps injury while attempting to block Fred Warner
The wideout knows better now than to actively attempt to block defensive players, especially a 230-lbs linebacker like Warner. In retrospect, Jefferson takes the blame for putting himself in that position.
I was supposed to stay on the corner and pretty much run him off. I've just got to make sure I'm aware of my rules. Some things you can control, some things you cannot. I could have controlled this injury by not going in, going in there on this run play that wasn't my job on that specific run. Justin Jefferson added
He took part in practice on Wednesday. Despite his limited participation, Jefferson felt great being out there.
Jordan Addison is out with an ankle injury and did not practice on Thursday. On the brighter side, Minnesota will be getting other key players that were out in the first two games back by Sunday. The likes of Brian O’Neill, Andrew Van Ginkel, Garrett Bradbury, Aaron Jones, and Jalen Nailor will be taking the field. The Vikings are coming off a confident victory against the 49ers and they head into Sunday’s game against the Texans in very high spirits.