Minnesota Vikings star receiver Justin Jefferson is honest to a fault, with his latest admission about Sam Darnold coming under scrutiny.
In a recent USA Today Sports interview, Jefferson couldn’t help but wonder what the 2025 season would have been like had the Vikings kept Darnold instead of betting on J.J. McCarthy, whose injury concerns continued through the season.
“Everyone knows the difficulty of the quarterback position this year, how we were dealt it,” Jefferson said. “But having a quarterback that already had a season under his belt with us, knew the plays, knew the playbook, knew the players, throwing to me, Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson, all these guys, I definitely feel like we would have done better.”
Jefferson’s comment caught the attention of many sports commentators, including one of sports’ greatest antagonists, Skip Bayless.
Skip Bayless Takes Issue With Vikings WR Justin Jefferson’s Honest Take on Sam Darnold
Appearing on “The Arena: Gridiron” podcast, Bayless had reservations about Jefferson’s honesty about the Darnold situation.
“It just hit me the wrong way,” Bayless said of Jefferson’s comment. “I don’t think Justin Jefferson is a bad guy. I don’t think he was thinking about what he was saying because it was thoughtless. It does his team no good right here, right now, going forward. It can’t help J.J.,” Bayless said. “J.J. is not going to love it. It’s not going to help JJ’s confidence, which was shaky last year. It’s not going to help the team’s confidence in J.J. The truth was, to me, that was just classic diva wide receiver talk.”
Bayless continued his attempt to pen Jefferson as a diva wide receiver, which Jefferson’s behavior so far in his career suggests otherwise.
However, Bayless made a valid point that publicly stating the what-ifs with Darnold does nobody in the Vikings organization any good, especially McCarthy.
“J.J. McCarthy had some really good games,” Bayless said. “That opener at Chicago, that second half, he was really good that half. They went to Detroit… and he lit them up at Detroit. And then he came to Dallas on Monday night, and he lit us up.
“So, he showed flashes of, not greatness, but very goodness,” Bayless said. “So, I don’t know, where’s the win in what Justin Jefferson just said between the lines about his current quarterback? There’s no win there. It doesn’t help his current team at all. He says he’s rooting for Sam Darnold.
“I just think it wasn’t a smart thing to say, because he wasn’t thinking.”
Justin Jefferson Admits He ‘Selfishly’ Wishes Sam Darnold’s Super Bowl Ascent Was With Vikings
As the Vikings enter another offseason with questions at quarterback, Jefferson was candid about how hard it is to watch Darnold go on to have so much success in his first year away from Minnesota.
“It’s definitely tough. It’s tough to watch,” Jefferson told USA Today Sports. “Of course, I love that he’s in the Super Bowl. I’m happy for him, I want nothing but the best for him, especially the way his journey was at first, people doubting him and people not giving him the respect. Now they’re giving him that respect. Now they’re seeing that he’s a top-tier quarterback in this league.
“Of course, selfishly, I wish that he had done that for us last year, but to see him blossom and bounce back right after last year and make it this year, I’m all happy for him, and I hope he wins. I’m rooting for Seattle and I think Seattle’s going to win. I’ll be rooting for him.”
Vikings’ Justin Jefferson Facing Backlash for Sam Darnold Remark