Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson remains without a new contract as he prepares to enter the final year of his deal, but Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport doesn’t think that will last much longer.
Davenport is projecting that Jefferson will land a massive five-year, $170.5 million extension from the Vikings, including $123 million in guaranteed money. That would make Jefferson the highest-paid non-quarterback in football.
Trade speculation has surfaced regarding Jefferson recently, as Minnesota has been dragging its feet in terms of reaching an agreement with him and the Vikings also let Kirk Cousins walk via free agency.
So, couple Minnesota potentially not prioritizing Jefferson like he feels it should with the fact that the Vikings don’t know who their quarterback will be in 2024, and it seems like a recipe for disaster.
However, Jefferson does not seem to be angling for a trade, and he appears to want to remain in Minnesota for the long haul. Or at least he said so in February.
Perhaps times have changed since then, as Cousins did not depart until March, and the Vikings also lost superstar edge rusher Danielle Hunter.
Maybe Jefferson will decide he does not want to spend a good chunk of his career on a team that doesn’t seem to be headed in a positive direction in terms of contending for a Super Bowl.
Or, maybe the 24-year-old simply wants to get paid, and as long as Minnesota ponies up, he will choose to stay with the Vikings long term.
One thing is for sure: if Minnesota loses Jefferson, it will have a heck of a time replacing him.
Jefferson has logged 1,000-yard campaigns in each of his first four NFL seasons, topping out at 1,809 yards in 2022. He even managed to finish with 1,074 yards this past year in spite of missing seven games.
We’ll see if the Vikings are able to lock up Justin Jefferson in the coming months.
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