Vikings’ Justin Jefferson says he won’t play until he’s 100%،
EAGAN, Minn. — The Vikings and All-Pro wide receiver Justin Jefferson are on the same page: Although his window to return to practice is open this week, Jefferson won’t play in a game until his injury to the right hamstring is not completely healed.
“Hamstrings are a tough injury just because they persist and come back from time to time if you don’t give it the right treatment,” Jefferson said Thursday, his first public comments since his Oct. 8 injury.
“The guys and the rest of the coaching staff in this building know my value on the field and they want me at 100 percent, as do I. I don’t want to go in there at 80 or 90 percent and have the chance of hurting him again. It’s just day by day, and when that time comes, I’ll definitely be ready to go.
Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell expressed similar sentiments throughout the early stages of Jefferson’s recovery, during which the team won four straight games to advance to the NFC playoffs. O’Connell said this week it would be “a little aggressive” to schedule Jefferson’s return for Sunday’s game against the Saints, pushing his return as soon as possible to Nov. 19 against the Broncos. The deadline for the Vikings to add him to their active roster is Dec. 6, which is during their bye week.
Jefferson, however, said it’s “obvious” he’ll return whenever he’s ready, regardless of what position the Vikings are in at that point. Since his injury, the Vikings have lost their three best quarterbacks – Kirk Cousins, Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall – to injury. Of Jefferson’s 360 career catches, 354 were thrown by Cousins.
Jefferson also continues to honor the terms of his rookie contract after he and the Vikings failed to reach an agreement this summer on a contract extension.
But, he said, “I will always want to play football, whether we haven’t won a game or whether we have won every game this season.
Jefferson added: “I love football. I always say I want to be a Hall of Famer, so I can’t sit around, miss games just for fun, or just because we’re not doing well .” I know that I have an important role on this team, and I know that every time I have the opportunity to be on this field, I want to make the most of those opportunities.
Jefferson was injured after slipping on the split-film artificial turf at U.S. Bank Stadium, which is scheduled to be replaced after this season. Split film turf has a higher rate of non-contact lower body injuries in NFL stadiums, according to data jointly compiled by the league and the NFL Players Association.
Split film turf in two stadiums – MetLife Stadium (Giants/Jets) and the Lions’ Ford Field – was replaced last offseason.
Jefferson said Thursday that the turf at U.S. Bank Stadium “could have been a slight problem” in the injury, but added, “I’m not going to blame the turf.”
Ultimately, though, his determination to get back to 100 percent will alleviate any concerns about the turf.
“I don’t want to have any doubt that this is going to come back and continue to persist throughout the season,” he said. “I feel like that’s kind of the main goal to get to 100 percent.”
