Vikings continue to mull status of Justin Jefferson for MNF،
EAGAN, Minn. – The Minnesota Vikings continue to weigh whether to retain All-Pro wide receiver Justin Jefferson from Monday night’s game against the Chicago Bears, the last game he could miss under the terms of his return window of 21 days. on injured reserve, coach Kevin O’Connell admitted Saturday.
Jefferson injured his right hamstring on October 8, and the Vikings opened his window to return to practice on November 8. The team has slowly increased its effort level over the past three weeks, but Jefferson has yet to fully participate in a practice and is listed. as questionable on this week’s injury report.
Jefferson said this week that he ran at full speed at times during practice, and O’Connell said Saturday that Jefferson “participated in some team reps.
But O’Connell and Jefferson both said he wouldn’t return until he was 100 percent, and the Vikings would get a Week 13 bye that would essentially give Jefferson a “free” recovery week before that the Vikings play their next game in December. 10 to the Las Vegas Raiders.
“We know we still have a lot of football left,” O’Connell said. “We also know that we have a bye week next week, which gives us maybe an extra week of preparation so that he feels like he has more and more work to do. But what if you ask some of his teammates, they’ll probably say he really looks ready to roll right now, and that’s where the problem lies with an injury like this.
“It’s not really something you have to invest a lot of time or energy into trying to figure it all out. It comes down to the best receiver in football trying to get to 100 percent so we can get him back there- low, not just for any short-term explosion, but for much longer than that.
Jefferson said Friday that sitting against the Bears was “definitely not something I wanted to do,” but added that being patient “comes with the game, it involves trying to be healthy, to try to be 100% and [following] the safe road. »
Ultimately, Jefferson said, “we’re going to weigh the options properly, making sure that I feel good and I’m ready to play a game, and if I feel good, I’ll play.”
