During the Week 8 loss to the Detroit Lions, it marked one of the few times that Minnesota Vikings wideout Justin Jefferson visibly showed frustration with the team’s QB play.
The Vikings star had another subpar performance by his standards, despite recording five receptions on nine targets for 33 receiving yards and one touchdown in the loss to Detroit.
Moreover, the entire situation isn’t his, given that over the past two seasons the Vikings have been hit with inconsistent play from the QB position. Nonetheless, with the quarterback position again being an issue, will Jefferson stop being a team player and express more frustration?
As a result, The Volume’s John Middlekauff believes it’s time for Jefferson to look for greener pastures, as he floated a trade idea involving the Vikings and the Kansas City Chiefs.
“What if you’re Minnesota and you go the other way and just sell Justin Jefferson to the Chiefs for two first-round picks, a second-round pick, and a third-round pick or something?” Middlekauff said in a Nov. 4 video from The Volume.
“I mean, you’re not going anywhere. I know you’re 6-1, but let’s be realistic. The smoke-and-mirrors approach you’re taking on defense with Kyler Murray is wasting him away.”
Shannon Sharpe Wouldn’t Be Surprised If Justin Jefferson Demands Trade
Middlekauff isn’t the only national media member who sees a potential Jefferson on the horizon. Amid this situation with Jefferson, former NFL tight end Shannon Sharpe recently stated that he wouldn’t be surprised if the Vikings star wideout decided to demand a trade.
“You’re going to wake up one morning and hear a source say Justin Jefferson is asking for a trade,” Sharpe said on the Nov. 1 edition of “Nightcap.” “This would be the second year they’ve wasted this man. Think about what he could do.
“This man was on a historic pace, and it’s come to a screeching halt. Remember, a receiver getting 1,000 yards in 17 games isn’t anything special. That’s only about 58 yards per game. Nobody is paying a player real money for 58 yards a game. He’s doing all the right things. He’s a total team player, but he knows.”
Vikings Named Potential Landing Spot for Lamar Jackson
It’s likely that drafting a QB or taking a project like Kyler Murray will not be enough to calm this situation with Jefferson after two seasons of his production taking a hit. Could it be time for the Vikings to finally land a franchise QB to show Jefferson that they aren’t wasting his prime years?
Zachary Rotman of FanSided ranked the potential landing spots for Lamar Jackson if the QB and the Baltimore Ravens can’t agree on a contract extension. Regarding the Vikings, Rotman ranked Minnesota as the No. 3 spot and believes it’s time for Minnesota to stop looking in the scrap yard for solutions at QB.
“Trading for Jackson would mean parting with a haul of draft picks and paying him historic amounts of money,” Rotman wrote in a Nov. 3 article. “This could result in the supporting cast around Jackson taking a bit of a hit, so how open would the Vikings be to making that happen?
“I think of the teams on this list, the Vikings should be the most aggressive. Will they be, though? They seem to be fine with their mediocre-to-bad options.”
Chiefs, Vikings Issued Strong Trade Idea Involving Justin Jefferson