Vikings to 'reassess' Justin Jefferson's hamstring injury next week

Justin Jefferson appears to be on track to being ready for the Sept. 8 season opener at Soldier Field against the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football, but until the Vikings provide an offiical injury update on the star wide receiver his prognosis won't be certain.

On Wednesday, ahead of the Vikings beginning two days of joint practices against the New England Patriots at TCO Performance Center in Eagan, Minn., head coach Kevin O'Connell expressed optimism and said Jefferson's hamstring injury will be reevaluated next week.

"He's definitely progressing and doing a great job," O'Connell said. "We hope to reassess early next week and see if we can maybe start building on that workload. He's been fantastic through these couple weeks and I expect that to continue."

Jefferson tweaked his hamstring during the second training camp practice and he's been held out ever since, though the Vikings almost immediately suggested that the injury isn't a threat to keep him out of the season opener.

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Getting Jefferson back for the opener will be critical because Jordan Addison will be serving the first game of a three-game suspension and Rondale Moore has been ruled out for the season with a significant knee injury. That'll leave Jefferson and Jalen Nailor as the top two wide receivers, followed by some combination of Lucky Jackson, rookie Tai Felton, and roster hopefuls Tim Jones and Jeshaun Jones.

Other noteworthy injury updates

Meanwhile, fullback C.J. Ham and edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel will be held out of joint practices against the Patriots Wednesday and Thursday as they're dealing with what O'Connell only described as "dealing with a couple things health wise."

Safety Harrison Smith will also be out Wednesday due to an illness.

Another injury to note is for defensive lineman Levi Drake Rodriguez, who came out of the preseason game against Houston with a minor ankle issue. O'Connell said it's still possible that he could play in Saturday's preseason game against the Patriots.

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