Cowboys Put Pressure on Vikings to Extend Justin Jefferson

Getty Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson is eligible for a contract extension this offseason, which should spark a major change in the roster structure going forward.

As the premium on pass-catchers continues to rise in the NFL, the Minnesota Vikings would be wise to extend Justin Jefferson soon.

However, Minnesota has backed away from the negotiating table for the moment. Meanwhile, the Dallas Cowboys are inching closer to making history with CeeDee Lamb, who was selected ahead of Jefferson in the 2020 draft.

Lamb striking an extension would make him the first wide receiver to reach a contract extension before their contract year since the 2011 CBA made it more difficult for players to see a second contract early in their career, per Pro Football Rumors.

The Athletic estimated Lamb to see a deal worth $25 to $30 million a year, which could be on the horizon come training camp in late July.

“We’ve historically signed a lot of guys during that training camp period to extensions,” Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones told Cowboys Country, adding of Lamb and others are “certainly on our radar in terms of guys that we’d love to have around here for another five, six years, whatever that turns out to be.”

History has shown that Lamb nor Jefferson may receive an extension this season. However, if Dallas gets a deal done with Lamb, that will only put more pressure on the Vikings to make Jefferson happy — ideally before the start of the season.

Jefferson has largely shown he’s not motivated by money but respect throughout his tenure in Minnesota. Seeing another wide receiver in his draft class hit their payday before him would add another chip on his shoulder since he took issue with being the fifth receiver taken off the board in his draft class.

Vikings Could Regret Not Paying Justin Jefferson Upfront, Analyst Says

On paper, the Vikings don’t have any reason to rush on re-signing Jefferson. But this isn’t Madden. There are feelings involved.

Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio touched on this last week, speculating that there is some potential to ruffle Jefferson’s feathers if the Vikings let contract talks play out into next offseason, especially with Kirk Cousins expected to become a free agent and no serviceable replacement currently in-house.

From Florio:

There’s plenty of noise out there that the Vikings will wait to extend Jefferson. They could regret it, for a couple of reasons.

For starters, the price is only going to keep going up and up. Every team that has ever waited to sign a great player has ended up spending more to later sign him. Unless, of course, the player suffers a serious injury or loses his fastball. Does anyone think Justin Jefferson is suddenly going to morph into Troy Williamson?

Then there’s the possibility that the foot-dragging will upset the good-natured Jefferson, making him decide that he wants out. That he wants to play elsewhere — like Davante Adams, Tyreek Hill, and A.J. Brown in 2022. Once that bridge is crossed, it’s hard to go back.

There’s a potential timeline that the Vikings do not retain Cousins and have to settle with a rookie quarterback, 2023 fifth-round pick Jaren Hall or a stopgap veteran quarterback in 2024 — the final year of Jefferson’s rookie deal.

It would be in Jefferson’s best interests to see that season through with the next quarterback before committing long-term.

General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah expressed earlier in the offseason that “he never wants to be Vikings GM” without Jefferson on his roster. That level of commitment should be shown sooner before the questions at quarterback begin to surface.

 Justin Jefferson Addresses Future Contract With Vikings

Jefferson has largely stayed off the radar this offseason despite skipping organized team activities in May.

He attended mandatory minicamps in mid-June and addressed the contract dealings with the Vikings, which the 2022 Offensive Player of the Year shrugged off.

“The contract is going to come with the game,” Jefferson said in a June 13 interview. “I don’t really see it as a cloud hanging over my head. At the end of the day, I’m still going to be myself, I’m still going to be playing the same way.”