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Kevin O’Connell not concerned with Vikings star receiver Justin Jefferson missing OTAs

dane mizutani, pioneer press
·3 min read

Vikings star receiver Justin Jefferson has been conspicuously absent from organized team activities at TCO Performance Center. Not that Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell seems too concerned.

Asked about the situation, O’Connell noted that he has had an open dialogue with Jefferson this spring. Though he wouldn’t divulge the details of those conversations, O’Connell made it clear that he and Jefferson are on the same page about everything.

In the meantime, O’Connell is happy to push forward with the players who are present, knowing Jefferson will easily acclimate whenever he returns.

“I think our participation among our whole team has been so good that we’ve been able to get great work in,” O’Connell said. “As we work towards minicamp we’ll have a real clear cut plan of what that looks like, and hopefully get him some work, and I know a lot of the guys will be excited to see him.”

It’s unclear why the soon-to-be 24-year-old has missed the past couple of weeks. It could be something as simple as he’s been training on his own in Miami and doesn’t want to disrupt the flow of things. It could be something as complicated as his potential contract extension that figures to get done sooner rather than later.

Just last month the Vikings officially exercised the fifth-year option for Jefferson, which officially keeps him under contract through 2024, and leaves the door open for a bigger deal to get done at a late date.

It seems like only a matter of time before Jefferson becomes highest-paid receiver in the league. He is set to make a base salary of $2.4 million in 2023 and a base salary of $19.7 million in 2024. The contract extension for Jefferson would begin in 2025.

His immense production to this point would suggest that he currently is underpaid.

Not only is Jefferson fresh off a historic campaign during which he had 128 receptions for 1,809 yards en route to being named the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year, he has 324 receptions for 4,825 yards in his professional career, most of any player in NFL history through his first three seasons.

That explains why general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah seems so hellbent on keeping Jefferson around.

“I don’t want to be the Vikings GM without this guy on our team,” he said in February at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. “It’s a priority.”

As for Jefferson, he has remained rather laid back whenever asked about his contract extension.

“I will be wherever I’m wanted,” he said in January when asked a possible contract extension. “If they want me here, I’m here.”

There’s nothing to worry about with Jefferson at the moment because the voluntary workouts are exactly that. There isn’t an expectation to be in attendance. Now, if he misses mandatory minicamp on June 13-14, this becomes a much bigger story than it is right now.

“I know he’s getting work wherever he’s spending his offseason,” O’Connell said. “Look forward to having him here when he decides to come up.”

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