The Minnesota Vikings don’t have much wiggle room at the quarterback position after a disastrous season under center in 2025, and the entire complexion of the team could change dramatically if Kyler Murray doesn’t pan out in the upcoming campaign.
Justin Jefferson was arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL across his first five seasons in the league, during which he primarily caught passes from Kirk Cousins and Sam Darnold — two QBs who were largely good, but never great, during their respective tenures in Minnesota.
That success earned Jefferson a $140 million contract that remains the third-highest at the position in league history behind Ja’Marr Chase, who gets to play pitch-and-catch with superstar QB Joe Burrow in the Cincinnati Bengals offense, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba who just won a Super Bowl ring in February with the aforementioned Darnold as members of the Seattle Seahawks.
With offensive mastermind Kevin O’Connell at the helm in Minnesota over the last four years, during which the Vikings have won the NFC North Division once and made the playoffs twice, analysts have largely considered Jefferson untradable.
However, Mike Kadlick of Sports Illustrated argued Monday, April 13 that is no longer an unassailable position for one to take on the 26-year-old Jefferson.
“Jefferson … is among the top wide receivers in football. The Vikings, however, have struggled to find success in recent years,” Kadlick wrote. “Amid their identity crisis at quarterback, it’s fair to wonder whether Minnesota’s instability could force the 2022 Offensive Player of the Year to consider what a long-term future would look like elsewhere.”
Justin Jefferson Yet to Make Any Trade Demands of Vikings
GettyMinnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson.
Jefferson probably would have to ask out of Minnesota to get any real traction on a trade, and he wouldn’t likely go for less than two first-round picks if a deal ever materialized.
Across 94 regular-season games over his six-year professional career, Jefferson has tallied 579 receptions for 8,480 yards and 42 touchdowns. Wideout is now a premium position, and the league pays the top receivers as such, alongside quarterback, pass-rusher and offensive tackle.
Jefferson has yet to make any waves with regards to wanting a new home, but there were obvious moments of frustration for the wideout last season amid the team’s transition to second-year quarterback JJ McCarthy, which television cameras caught on the field and sidelines.
Vikings Have No Solution at QB if Kyler Murray Doesn’t Work Out
GettyQuarterback Kyler Murray of the Minnesota Vikings.
Murray is a two-time Pro Bowler and former No. 1 overall pick entering his age-29 campaign. However, he is undersized and not a prototypical O’Connell quarterback.
Beyond that, Murray hasn’t had a .500 season as a starter since he went 9-5 with the Arizona Cardinals in 2021, which was also his most recent Pro-Bowl campaign. He has battled injuries and eclipsed 3,000 yards passing just once over the past four years after doing so in each of his first three seasons.
Minnesota fielded the No. 3 defense in the league last year, has a reasonable offensive line in place and has Jefferson and Jordan Addison flanking Murray on offense. So even if the team underperforms in 2026, the Vikings aren’t going to be bad relative to the rest of the league.
What that means is Minnesota likely isn’t going to be drafting an elite rookie QB next year. McCarthy, Carson Wentz and Max Brosmer are the other signal-callers currently on the Vikings’ depth chart heading into offseason work.
Thus, if the Murray experiment fails, it is fair to wonder where Jefferson will stand heading into his late 20s and the final two years of his contract in 2027.
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