The Vikings have a new franchise passer on the roster, and now that the 2024 draft is in the books, they can turn their focus back to an extension for perhaps the best wide receiver in the league. Minnesota and three-time Pro Bowler Justin Jefferson tabled their contract negotiations during draft weekend, but as GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah made plain, that pause had nothing to do with a breakdown in the talks themselves.
“We continue to have great dialogue with [Jefferson’s] representatives,” Adofo-Mensah said, via ESPN’s Kevin Seifert. “The process is still ongoing. We did say, ‘Hey, [let’s pause] a couple days.’ The draft’s coming. The [agents] have players they represent. We have our process.”
In addition to noting that the two sides continue to make progress, Adofo-Mensah also said that when (not if) an agreement is reached, it will be cause for celebration that should not be overshadowed by other matters like the draft.
“Either way, whenever we sign him, we want Justin to have his whole week,” the GM said. “You know that friend that has a birthday that takes the month? I think Justin would deserve his whole month if we signed a contract to celebrate it. We’re excited to work towards it. We’re going to keep going. You can’t have all these plans when you talk about all these visions and not talk about the king linchpin, so we’re going to keep working toward that end goal.”
Jefferson, who is entering his age-25 season, was not present to start the Vikings’ offseason program as he continues to seek his mega-deal, although he did not participate in the club’s voluntary work last year either (he did attend the mandatory minicamp). Both the Eagles’ A.J. Brown and the Lions’ Amon-Ra St. Brown have inked extensions over the past several days, deals that place those players at the very top of the ever-booming WR market in terms of both average annual value and total guarantees.
Brown now holds the wide receiver record for AAV ($32M) and guaranteed money ($84M), and Jefferson will surely be aiming to meet or top those figures. Despite the hamstring injury that kept him off the field for much of the 2023 season, the LSU product’s youth, importance to his club and accomplishments to date give him plenty of ammunition in that regard.
After player and team got “unbelievably close” to reaching an extension last offseason, there is optimism that they may soon push this matter over the finish line.
More must-reads: