Vikings' Justin Jefferson addresses trade rumors amid winless run

All-Pro wide receiver Justin Jefferson doesn't want to hear or see any more talk about the Minnesota Vikings possibly trading current starters and punting on the 2023 season following their 0-3 start. 

"I'm tired of people saying that we're looking into next season or all of the trades and stuff like that," Jefferson told reporters on Thursday, per Kevin Seifert of ESPN. "We're focused still on this season. We have a lot more games to go and we have a lot more things to accomplish this season. We're still focused in, and we still have the same goal as we had before the season. We just need to fix a few things and I feel like we'll be back on track."

Specifically, numerous NFL insiders and analysts have linked Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins with the New York Jets amid the struggles of starter Zach Wilson. Wilson replaced the injured Aaron Rodgers after Rodgers suffered a torn Achilles in Week 1 and lost his first two starts of the campaign. 

Cousins has a full no-trade clause attached to his contract but is on track to reach free agency after the season. The 35-year-old said back in June he likely wouldn't discuss his future with the Vikings until early next year.

Jefferson, meanwhile, made it known earlier this month he "would love for Kirk to continue to be my quarterback" and "would love to have Kirk and continue my journey with Kirk."

The Vikings play at the 0-3 Carolina Panthers this Sunday. 

"At the end of the day it's not going to be perfect every time," Jefferson added about the state of the club. "There's things that you've got to go through throughout the season to really tell if you're going to be a great team or not. We're handling adversity early in the season with the turnovers and being 0-3, but there is a whole bunch of more games to go."

Minnesota hosts the Kansas City Chiefs (2-1) in Week 5. Individuals running the Vikings may need to have some difficult conversations regarding Cousins and other out-of-contract players on the morning of Oct. 9 if the team starts that day at 0-5.