Vikings star receiver Justin Jefferson is not in Minnesota with some of his teammates reporting to TCO Performance Center in Eagan for voluntary workouts.
His absence isn’t surprising given that many players throughout the NFL decide to skip voluntary workouts. Add in the fact that Jefferson is still waiting to sign a historic contract extension, and frankly, it might have been more surprising if he was present.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell doesn’t sound too concerned, nor should he be at this point. It feels like only a matter of time before the Vikings come to the table and make Jefferson the highest-paid receiver in the league. That’s something everybody should remind themselves over the next couple of months regardless of what happens.
“I’ve had a lot of great dialogue with Justin throughout even the early part of this offseason and leading up,” O’Connell said. “My hope is we can get him around the team because he’s obviously such a special player.”
As he plays out the final year of his rookie contract, Jefferson is set to make $19.74 million. He’s likely searching for a contract extension that will pay him north of $30 million annually, which would put him above Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill, who has an average annual value of $30 million.
It’s worth noting that Jefferson missed voluntary workouts in the spring last year before showing up for the mandatory minicamp. He also fully participated in training camp in the summer despite not being able to come to an agreement on a contract extension at the time.
Is there a chance Jefferson could return to voluntary workouts?
“He is not here today,” O’Connell said. “It remains to be seen kind of what the rest of the program looks like.”
Though it sounds as if O’Connell is leaving the door open, he has to know deep down that it would be shocking if Jefferson participated in anything this offseason without signing his contract extension. There’s no reason for him to risk injury of any sort when he’s about to earn a massive pay raise.
“We want him here as much as we can have him,” O’Connell said. “We also understand there’s a lot of factors involved. There’s nobody I love having around more on a daily basis because of how he elevates others. He’s truly a special, special player.”
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