Justin Jefferson Injury Scare Exposes Larger Concern for 2021 Vikings

In 2020, the Minnesota Vikings season went pear-shaped when injuries tormented the defense. From Danielle Hunter, Michael Pierce (opt-out), Anthony Barr, Mike Hughes, to Eric Kendricks — the defense faceplanted without its essential personnel.

General Manager Rick Spielman spent the offseason preventing a redux of this occurrence. New defensive players joined the roster via free agency, bolstering the expectations for the 2021 campaign while deepening the roster to a level unseen for several years.

But most of those free agents were defenders.

At around 3:00 pm on Friday, the purple earth stood still for the Vikings when second-year wide receiver Justin Jefferson was hurt at training camp. He hit the ground hard after a Bashaud Breeland tackle, slamming his shoulder into the turf. Jefferson immediately jetted off to the training room on his own volition, mystery abound on the severity of the injury.

The crisis was averted soon after when the who’s-who of NFL intel reported Jefferson’s ailment as AC joint sprain, plopping the LSU alumnus into “day-to-day” status rather than a 2020 Danielle Hunter-like gone for the year. Jefferson will be ready for Week 1 at Cincinnati barring any new setbacks.

The panic leading up to that revelation was intense, though. Can the Vikings 2021 aspirations really be undone by an injury to a single non-quarterback player? The anxiety surrounding Jefferson’s injury suggests so.

Storybook seasons akin the Nick Foles leading the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl in 2017 are outliers. Hell, the Vikings damn near authored one in that same season when Sam Bradford was replaced by career journeyman, Case Keenum, at quarterback. So, on the whole, an NFL season can be ruined by a QB1 injury. Imagine Patrick Mahomes ceding snaps to Chad Henne for a full season. The world would return to an opinion of Andy Reid as a close-but-no-cigar coach.

Or — for the Vikings, 2019 or 2020 probably would have been over if Sean Mannion replaced Kirk Cousins. Ergo, the quarterback position is the one exception to the irreplaceable rule.

Without Jefferson, the Vikings might be sunk — or so says the masses. Is that a smart mentality to allow for a team just five weeks before the commencement of the regular season? Perhaps Jefferson is just that good and his value is immeasurable.

Should Spielman use JeffersonGate as a teaching moment, now is the time to formulate an emergency plan. And maybe that exists on the current roster.

Dede Westbrook was recently signed to play WR3, although his utilization at training camp has been minimal while he recovers from a torn ACL. K.J. Osborn, Ihmir Smith-Marsette, and Whop Philyor have all documented moments at Vikings training camp. The life-without-Jefferson angst might just be a fan-induced ordeal.

If it did frighten the Vikings front office, a few other options are available.

In addition to the Westbrook acquisition, Golden Tate, 33, has not signed with an NFL team for his ninth season. No stranger to the injury bug himself, Tate is healthy now and waiting for an olive branch to continue the latter portion of his commendable career. He certainly will not post Jeffersonian numbers, but he is reliable and battle-tested.

Then, James Washington with the Pittsburgh Steelers allegedly wants out of Pennsylvania.

He’s definitely not a household name. However, with his 2nd-Round draft stock three years ago — Brian O’Neill was selected in this spot of the same draft — Washington might thrive with a change of scenery.

With either of those scenarios — signing a free agent like Tate or trading for Washington — the Vikings would return to a 2015 or 2016 feel for the WR corps, before Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs truly blossomed as Top 15-caliber pass-catchers. It would just have to work because, well, that’s the price to pay when a player like Jefferson falls by the wayside. The pricetag for Washington is reasonably a 5th or 6th-Rounder in a future draft.

Cousins could make these options work, too. In Washington from 2015 to 2017, he rarely had DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon healthy at the same time. So, he flung the ball to a motley crew of dudes such as Jamison Crowder and Ryan Grant. Take all of the “Cousins singularly targets Thielen and Jefferson” narratives and flush them in the toilet. One of the Cousins’ best traits is distributing the ball to unsung players.

Minnesota would not be the same without Jefferson if another injury arises. But 2021 hope need not be gutted altogether in his absence. Instead, Friday should be used as a warning for safeguard-like next steps.

Either establish Westbrook as the sure-fire WR2 — or get on the phone to inquire about Tate or Washington.

You’d also want to draft Dalvin Cook onto your fantasy football team.