Vikings star receiver Justin Jefferson has been sidelined by a hamstring strain for the last few days.
While head coach Kevin O’Connell still feels like Jefferson will be able to play Week 1 when Minnesota opens the season against Chicago, he would like to see Jefferson on the field in fairly short order.
“[There’s a] finite amount of time we’re talking about to get him right and get him totally ready to roll for the grind,” O’Connell said Tuesday, via Tony Liebert of SI.com. “The guy plays 70-plus snaps a week, and what we ask him to do is just flat-out remarkable, but he’s able to consistently do that.
“But you still want to have him back sooner rather than later,” O’Connell added. “Like I said, zero worry about the opener, but there’s a lot of time in between now and then. What that looks like, we’re gonna be smart, but at the same time, he wants to get back out there. He does not want to stay wearing what I wear to practice for much longer.”
Jefferson, 26, caught 103 passes for 1,533 yards with 10 touchdowns in 17 games last season. While the Vikings certainly want to have Jefferson healthy for 2025, they also likely would like to have Jefferson establish as much chemistry as possible with quarterback J.J. McCarthy, as the 2024 No. 10 overall pick enters his first year as a starter.
