Minnesota Vikings star wide receiver Justin Jefferson suffered a quad injury that knocked him out of Sunday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers.
Following the contest, Jefferson spoke candidly about that injury and what it means for his immediate future.
“Justin Jefferson said he’s not concerned about his ‘thigh bruise, contusion, whatever you want to call it,'” Andrew Krammer of the Star Tribune reported on social media. “Expects to be ready for next week.”
Krammer included Jefferson’s full comments in a later post to X.
“Just a little thigh bruise, contusion, whatever you want to call it,” Jefferson said. “Something that happens a lot in the game. Just got to treat it up, get it figured out and be ready to go next week.”
Justin Jefferson Key to Banged Up Vikings Pass Attack in Weeks to Come
To say that Jefferson matters to the Vikings offense is both obvious and a wild understatement. However, his contributions are even more crucial with both wideout Jordan Addison and tight end T.J. Hockenson out with ankle and knee problems, respectively.
Jefferson was huge on Sunday against San Francisco, hauling in 4 catches for 133 yards, which included a 97-yard TD bomb from quarterback Sam Darnold in the middle of the second quarter that stretched Minnesota’s advantage to double digits.
Darnold had another quality outing, his second in two starts for Minnesota, putting up 268 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT on 17-of-26 passing and finishing with an impressive rating of 109.1. Darnold threw for 208 yards 2 TDs and 1 INT in a 28-6 road victory last week against the New York Giants to open the season.
As excellent as Darnold has been with a new offense in 2024, it would be next to impossible to ask him to best the Houston Texans next week without the services of Jefferson, Addison and Hockenson. Addison could be back in Week 3, though that’s a questionable proposition at best at this point, and Hockenson will remain out for certain.
The Texans won the AFC South Division as well as a playoff game last season and can put the Vikings alone at the top of the NFC North Division with a victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday Night Football.
Vikings Wideout Jalen Nailor, Running Back Aaron Jones Stepped up in Justin Jefferson’s Absence
The need for Jefferson if the Vikings hope to win against the class of the NFL — teams like the 49ers and Texans — doesn’t diminish what the offense has gotten from other players on the roster during the first two wins of the year.
Third wide receiver Jalen Nailor stood out Sunday against San Francisco, hauling in 3 catches for 54 yards and a TD. One of those grabs led to a crucial third-down-and-8 conversion on the Vikings’ final scoring drive of the game, which stretched the lead to 23-14 and helped to put the contest out of reach.
New running back Aaron Jones, who came over from the rival Green Bay Packers during the offseason, was also big in the passing game with 5 catches for 36 yards. He added 9 carries for 32 rushing yards as well.
