Getty Head coach Kevin O'Connell of the Minnesota Vikings.
The Minnesota Vikings continue to knock down trade rumors around players like Kirk Cousins and Danielle Hunter, but the conversation has now shifted to Justin Jefferson.
Jefferson is out for the next four to six weeks with a right hamstring strain. Meanwhile, the Vikings are 2-4 with a Week 7 home contest against the San Francisco 49ers looming. Cousins and Hunter are each on the final year of their deals and offseason negotiations with the franchise suggest that neither will play in purple and gold next season.
Matt Holder of Bleacher Report predicted on Saturday, October 21, predicted that Minnesota will make the “shocking” decision to part with Jefferson ahead of the trade deadline in a play geared toward the 2024 NFL draft and a total overhaul.
The Minnesota Vikings are 2-4 with one-possession wins over the 0-6 [Carolina] Panthers and 1-5 [Chicago] Bears heading into Week 7. Returning to the postseason feels like an afterthought. … In other words, it might make sense for the Vikings to hit the reset button and rebuild this offseason.
They failed to reach a contract extension with Justin Jefferson this past summer, and it’s hard to imagine he’d be more willing to strike a long-term deal with a team that is probably going to do a lot more losing over the next few years during the rebuild. So, trading Jefferson to get more assets to build for the future should be on the table for Minnesota.
Justin Jefferson Can Bring Back Multiple First-Round Picks
GettyWide receiver Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings warms up prior to an NFL preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals in August 2023.
Dealing arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL at the beginning of his prime is a great way for a general manager to get himself fired. As such, it’s hard to envision Kwesi Adofo-Mensah making such a potentially devastating decision. It also renders Holder’s projection an unlikely — and wildly unpopular — position to take.
That said, there are few players in the league who could bring back better assets than Jefferson. A recent trend has also emerged, in which prominent teams have parted ways with top pass-catchers in exchange for high-end draft capital.
Green Bay received first- and second-round picks from Las Vegas for Davante Adams, and Kansas City got that plus two fourth-rounders and a sixth-round pick from Miami for Tyreek Hill. Minnesota can expect to receive similar compensation for Jefferson, and maybe even a little more since he’s younger than Adams and Hill [were] when those two were dealt.
Adding at least two top-64 picks would be huge for a team that’s about to start a rebuild, especially if the Vikings aren’t going to be able to retain Jefferson beyond next season anyway.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell contended on October 19 that Jefferson is worth at least a couple of first-round picks.
“I don’t think Jefferson would land three first-round picks in a trade, but the Vikings likely would be able to nab two first-rounders and a mid-round pick or a starting-caliber veteran if they decided to rebuild from the ground up and trade him. (I do not endorse this plan),” Barnwell wrote. “The recent hamstring injury hurts Jefferson’s short-term value, but it doesn’t appreciably change his long-term path toward Canton.”
Vikings Not Interested in Trading Justin Jefferson as of 3 Weeks Ago
GettyWide receiver Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings celebrates after scoring a touchdown during an NFL game against the Baltimore Ravens in November 2021.
Jefferson is playing in the fourth season of his initial four-year, $13.1 million deal. The Vikings exercised their fifth-year team option on the wide receiver over the offseason, which keeps him under contract through 2024. He will earn $19.7 million next year if he doesn’t sign an extension before then.
The Vikings have already offered Jefferson a massive new agreement, which he turned down according to Dianna Russini of the Athletic. Still, Russini said at the time that Minnesota had no plans to trade the All-Pro wideout.
“The team already tried extending Jefferson in a deal that would make him one of the highest-paid players in football,” Russini wrote on October 1. “Two team sources said the Vikings are not punting on the season and have no plans to trade Cousins, who would have to waive his no-trade clause to be moved. In addition, those sources shot down trade rumors regarding star wide receiver Justin Jefferson.”
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Vikings Predicted to Trade $13 Million All-Pro for Huge Draft Haul