The Minnesota Vikings are a team that everyone is going to be keeping an eye on in the coming weeks. With a 1-4 record heading into a matchup with the Chicago Bears in Week 6, this game is going to determine the route in which the team takes for the remainder of the season.
A regression to the mean after what many considered a fluky 2022 campaign was expected for the Vikings. But, even the most pessimistic of people couldn’t have envisioned this kind of letdown from the team.
It is hard to imagine the Vikings turning things around, either, because they are going to be without their best player, wide receiver Justin Jefferson. Jefferson suffered a hamstring injury in the fourth quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 5, awkwardly slipping while running a route.
Not wanting him to make things worse and return too soon, the Vikings placed him on injured reserve. That means he will miss at least four games and will be eligible to return in Week 10 for their matchup against the New Orleans Saints. However, there is a large group of people who believe he will be sidelined much longer than that.
One of those people is Benjamin Solak of The Ringer. He appeared on a recent edition of The Bill Simmons Podcast and predicted that we may not see Jefferson back on the field this season.
Leaning into their 1-4 start, a firesale could be on the horizon as the Vikings want to put themselves in the best position possible to land a quarterback prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft. That could also mean trading quarterback Kirk Cousins.
“I think the Vikings are a really good candidate for the first-overall pick. Their general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah … he is an analytics guy,” Solak said. “Justin Jefferson is on IR with a hamstring injury now for at least four weeks. Hamstring injuries don’t just go away man. I mean, you don’t just get over a hammy. It’s a quick-twitch muscle and a quick-twitch position. That’s a hard injury to deal with. I wouldn’t be surprised if they shelf Jefferson, they trade Kirk Cousins, they really tank this thing and they try to go get a new quarterback this upcoming draft.” (H/T Heavy.com)
That is a plan which makes some sense for the Vikings long-term. With Cousins on an expiring contract and the team not showing a ton of interest in keeping him long-term, their plans may include finding a new starter in the 2024 NFL Draft.
However, this is a plan that will be a tough sell to someone such as Jefferson. The ultimate competitor, tanking isn’t something that he would likely be on board with, especially if it means sitting out the remainder of the season.
These will be the first games Jefferson misses in his career. Sitting out the minimum four is likely his goal, but if the losses continue piling up for the Vikings, they could look to hold him out for the long haul.
