Familiar Voice Reignites Justin Jefferson Trade Smoke
A Justin Jefferson trade before or during the draft; the Vikings possibly grabbing the Falcons’ eighth overall pick because of tampering.
Familiar Voice Reignites Justin Jefferson Trade Smoke
Those are a couple of theories from Pro Football Talk and Mike Florio this offseason — inaccurate ones, of course. Now, Florio is back to Jefferson, claiming the Vikings front office could be “playing games” with their best player.
Florio joined KFAN this week and authored a theory suggesting Minnesota is playing hardball with Jefferson’s extension. “If you want him, you pay him. If you don’t, you trade him. You don’t do this half-measure; we’re gonna play games with him. And my intel is, from Jefferson’s perspective, there may be a perception that they’re playing games with him, and that doesn’t end well. F around and find out is the mantra that they need to keep in mind if they are indeed effing around with JJ,” Florio opined.
Jefferson enters Year No. 5 in 2024 — time flies, doesn’t it? — and is expected to extend his stay in Minnesota for four to five years before too long. Yet, per Florio, Minnesota’s alleged antics could get in the way.
When finally locked in, the contract will likely cost around $35 million per year, but the two parties have taken an inordinate amount of time to officially sign it. That’s led some to speculate — especially before the draft — that general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah could trade Jefferson for a king’s ransom.
The problem? Everyone within the organization says the opposite of Florio’s theory. Head coach Kevin O’Connell noted last week, “I know everything’s gonna get worked out there. Justin knows the love and admiration that I have for him. He knows he’s such a big part of what we do around here. That’s on the field and off the field. Bringing such a great energy to our building every single day.”
“Justin Jefferson’s a huge part of this organization,” O’Connell concluded about Jefferson’s role.
Adofo-Mensah also hinted after April’s draft that an extension was close. He said, “You know that friend that has a birthday that takes the month? I think Justin would deserve his whole month if we signed a contract to celebrate it. We’re excited to work towards it. We’re going to keep going. You can’t have all these plans when you talk about all these visions and not talk about the king linchpin, so we’re going to keep working toward that end goal.”
No Vikings leader has ever mentioned disgruntlement or stalling regarding Jefferson’s extension. Humongous deals just often bleed into the summer.
Last week, ESPN’s Dan Graziano claimed Jefferson’s extension may be drawn out even further, possibly 2-3 more months. The Vikings evidently prefer such deals on or after July 31st. “There’s a number of reasons to think an extension might take until closer to the season. The Vikings have a policy with their signing bonuses where July 31st is kind of a key date, and they might want to wait until after that,” Graziano recently stated on NFL Live.
Graziano added, “And think about the agent, Brian Ayrault, who represents Justin Jefferson. Last year, he represented Joe Burrow and Nick Bosa. Burrow, now the highest-paid player in the league, Bosa, now the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league, and those deals got done pretty close to the start of the regular season. So I would preach patience on the Justin Jefferson deal.”
On the whole, Florio is either wrong — again — or Minnesota is quietly concocting one of the largest two-faced dealings in NFL history.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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