News Now: Minnesota Vikings nation Tide QB Ty Simpsons Is Out On…
EAGAN — Justin Jefferson was not in attendance Monday at TCO Performance Center as the Minnesota Vikings took part in voluntary workouts.
Judging by head coach Kevin O’Connell’s answer about whether he expects Jefferson to be around for any of the offseason program — OTAs, minicamp etc. — it doesn’t seem particularly likely that we see No. 18 until he has a new contract extension in hand.
“My hope is that we can get him around the team… want him here as much as we can have him,” O’Connell said.
Whenever there is a player of Jefferson’s magnitude in the midst of a contract negotiation things tend to get amplified. Every missed workout or OTA (Jefferson was not in attendance for OTAs last year either) becomes a headline and rumors often follow. Last year there was buzz throughout the summer that the 49ers might trade edge rusher Nick Bosa, who ultimately signed his deal only days before the opener.
While it remains likely that Jefferson will eventually come to an agreement with the team on a long-term deal, there should be some added pressure to work out an extension as soon as possible because of the Vikings’ situation at quarterback.
If Kirk Cousins was coming back under center, there would be no time crunch for Jefferson to get onto the field over the summer. After two years in the offense together, they could have operated it with no preparation but with Cousins in Atlanta and the quarterback on opening day set to either be Sam Darnold or Rookie QB X, the Vikings should be very anxious to have Jefferson working closely with his new quarterback.
“I’ve had a lot of great dialogue with Justin throughout the early part of the offseason…he’s such a special player but it goes beyond that especially this time of year because of just the energy and the way he goes to work when he’s in this building and how his teammates respond to him,” O’Connell said.
