The Minnesota Vikings worked out former Detroit Lions running back Jermar Jefferson. This was reported by the NFL’s daily transaction wire on Monday afternoon.
Jefferson was originally drafted by the Lions in the seventh round of the 2021 NFL draft. He spent most of his time with the Lions between the active roster and the practice squad. Over the course of his career, he has also played with the Tennessee Titans and Arizona Cardinals. Both of those came last season. He was able to make a minor impact with the Cardinals, appearing in two games on special teams.
Jefferson has recorded 21 rushing attempts for 96 yards and two touchdowns. The playmaker has also tallied five receptions for 33 yards. Now, the Vikings brought him in to see if he could add to their strong running back room.
Potential Vikings RB Was College Star
Jefferson had a successful college career. He played for the Oregon State Beavers from 2018 to 2020. Jefferson began his career strong, appearing in 12 games for the Beavers in 2018. He recorded 239 carries for 1,380 yards and 12 touchdowns. This included 254 rushing yards against Arizona State. Jefferson was named the Pac-12 Freshman Offensive Player of the Year for his efforts.
2020 was another season in which he was able to showcase his talents. His junior season saw him record 143 rushing yards per game and 6.5 yards per carry. All told, he tallied 133 carries for 858 yards and six touchdowns in six games. Jefferson was named the Co-Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year and received first-team All-Pac-12 honors.
The proof of Jefferson’s skill set was in the games he played. He had 1500-yard rushing games over 27 career appearances. It was easy to see why NFL teams wanted to take a chance on him.
The 2026 calendar year has been busy for him. He was signed by the San Francisco 49ers on May 28 to a one-year contract. He was waived just five days later on June 2. Jefferson also had a workout with the Green Bay Packers on July 27. This was a depth move on the part of the Packers as well. They were also able to see if he could help their team.
Vikings RB Position Looking Promisng
Now, the Vikings brought in Jefferson. The running back position is an interesting one for the Vikings, as Aaron Jones undoubtedly leads the way. Jordan Mason and Demond Claiborne also provide support. Claiborne in particular has had an intriguing training camp. The rookie has emerged as a pleasant surprise at the position, and could factor in heavily to the rotation sooner rather than later. The emergence of Claiborne has made it so running back depth is necessarily the most pressing need.
With that being said, it is never a bad thing to try and check off boxes and add players for depth purposes. This is exactly what the preseason is all about. If anything, the Vikings are doing a little bit of homework with their first preseason game on Thursday.
The offense has a chance to be explosive in the fall, and adding additional depth may be what is needed to get over the hump.
Vikings Quietly Exploring Another Option for Their Backfield