Dec 17, 2022; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson (18) before the game against the Indianapolis Colts at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports.
Last month, the Pioneer Press, St. Paul’s keynote newspaper, suggested a Justin Jefferson trade for the Minnesota Vikings. A few days later, former NFLer Kyle Long piled on with the same theory.
Now, media members are at it again.
This time, Fox Sports’ Colin Cowherd followed suit, the latest to recommend a Jefferson trade, with the offseason just 4.5 weeks old. “I’ve got an idea. New England’s got the No. 3 pick. What does New England desperately need? A playmaker. Justin Jefferson — switch picks, I’ll give you next year’s (first-rounder) and Justin Jefferson to go from 11 to 3,” Cowherd said on The Herd.
Jefferson is in line to receive a mammoth contract extension this offseason, and Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said last year that he wouldn’t want the Vikings job without Jefferson on the roster.
That didn’t prevent Cowherd from going full tilt on the trade-Jefferson fodder, though.
He added, “Because they’ve already got Jordan Addison, they’ve got the tight end they like (T.J. Hockenson). They’ve got skill players. Next year’s one and Justin Jefferson to move up to the number three spot to get your quarterback.”
All Vikings leaders — the ownership, the aforementioned Adofo-Mensah, and head coach Kevin O’Connell — have stated for one year their desire to employ Jefferson for the long haul, insinuating that a contract extension was a no-brainer and only a matter of time before an agreement would finalize.
Jefferson will turn 25 in June and is considered by most to be the NFL’s best wide receiver. But with the Cowherd theory, Minnesota could send Jefferson easterly and use the third overall pick to draft a quarterback of the future, likely LSU’s Jayden Daniels or North Carolina’s Drake Maye.
Three weeks ago, Pioneer Press published a similar theory advanced by Charley Walters. “There could be a better chance of Jefferson, 24, getting traded than anybody’s saying. That’s because it doesn’t make sense to pay the NFL’s best receiver the money he wants (expected to be at least $150 million over five years) on a team that’s not expected to be seriously competitive for several more years.”
Soon after, Kyle Long stated his case on CBS Sports airwaves for the Vikings to trade Jefferson in a since-deleted tweet. “The Minnesota Vikings, you need to trade Justin Jefferson. Because you’ve got the best receiver in football, but you didn’t win a Super Bowl. Kirk Cousins had an awesome year, but you’ve got other weapons in Braylon Addison, a number of receivers, you’ve got a great tight end there, you’ve got a coordinator, a great offensive mind at head coach,” Long spitballed.
Nobody was too sure what Long meant by “Braylon Addison.”
On the whole, Jefferson is unlikely to be traded, and Minnesota could trade up the draftboard without Jefferson as part of the deal.
Bleacher Report has also mentioned a Jefferson trade this offseason.
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.