Justin Jefferson did something he had never done in his six seasons with the Minnesota Vikings.
Following a shutout loss to the Seattle Seahawks that saw Jefferson held to a career-low four yards on two receptions, Jefferson declined to speak to media and walked out of the locker room on Sunday, November 30.
For weeks, Jefferson’s frustrations with the offense have been evident during game broadcasts. An ultra-competitor, Jefferson wears his winning spirit on his sleeve. In previous interviews, he maintained that he would continue to focus on what he could control and that the offense was redeemable.
But after one of the worst offensive performances in franchise history, Jefferson had had enough, sparking trade rumors around the NFL.
Approaching a pivotal proving grounds for the entire franchise, head coach Kevin O’Connell addressed Jefferson’s behavior after the loss to the Seahawks.
Vikings Coach Kevin O’Connell Makes Feelings Clear on Justin Jefferson’s Behavior After Seahawks Loss
GettyHead coach Kevin O’Connell of the Minnesota Vikings.
In a December 3 news conference, O’Connell made his feelings clear about Jefferson’s behavior after the game — putting zero fault on his star receiver.
“Yeah, he obviously wants to win football games. As I’ve mentioned before, he is as competitive as anybody I’ve ever been around. And so he’s a leader on our team and nobody is accepting any sort of the outcomes that we’re facing right now. Regardless of the reason, regardless of the current state of where we’re at, nobody’s accepting that and Justin certainly will never be asked to accept that, but he always, like he did today, he shows up with energy and he’s going to have an impact on our organization at a really high level,” O’Connell said, per ESPN’s Kevin Seifert.
Jefferson’s production has hit a career low at 66.6 yards per game this season as opposed to his 96.5 yards-per-game average in his first five seasons — a byproduct of the growing pains the entire offense has endured with J.J. McCarthy and Max Brosmer under center.
“And we’ve got to find ways to allow players just like Justin and Jordan [Addison] and some of our other players to impact the game. And then when they get those chances, we know that good things will happen, but it takes much more than just calling plays for them or having sequences in the games where they can have a high level of impact because this game requires 10 other guys to operate at a standard to allow that to happen. And that’s what we got to strive to have happen and Justin plays a huge role in that as one of our captains,” O’Connell added.
Justin Jefferson Trade Rumors Rekindled After Seahawks Game
No matter what Vikings fans may think, the Jefferson trade rumors will only get louder this offseason with the franchise seemingly taking several steps back at the quarterback position.
And while the validity of said rumors will be questioned, Jefferson is approaching the peak of his prime and deserves to play for a contender.
The Vikings must find what made them a 14-win team a season ago if they hope to keep Jefferson around.
A trade would be absurd, but the same could be said about the Micah Parsons deal just three months ago.
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