Vikings' Justin Jefferson officially placed on injured reserve

EAGAN, Minn. — The Minnesota Vikings have officially placed superstar wideout Justin Jefferson on injured reserve, but his head coach described his expected stint away as "short-term."

The team announced the roster move Wednesday. Jefferson will miss at least the next four games after suffering a hamstring injury in Sunday's loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. He limped off the field in the fourth quarter and was held out for the remainder.

Head coach Kevin O'Connell said he doesn't expect Jefferson to be out for the whole season.

"With hamstrings, I don't want to speculate on exactly when it will be," he said. "But I know he feels pretty good considering where some guys feel at this point in the process, having just been this past Sunday. It's just gonna be about all that entails to go through the process to where he can have some time to start feeling like he can be at full speed again, as explosive as he is. And that'll be a process he'll work through. Hopefully we can get that window opened up and see where he's at that time."

On Monday, O'Connell said the team would "have to medically make a good decision and help almost protect [Jefferson] from himself a little bit in a way where we gotta take care of him and get him back to 100%."

"We're gonna do what's best for Justin and make sure we give him the treatment and plan that is a big picture positive for him," he said.

Quarterback Kirk Cousins on Wednesday said losing Jefferson is "tough," but he doesn't think it will fundamentally alter the Vikings' offense. He also said he's unsure how it will affect how defenses prepare and play against the Vikings.

"He's been healthy and available for I think every game since 2020, so you haven't really seen what that might look like," Cousins said. "I think defenses are still so well-prepared that they'll still go by, 'Ok, whoever else is left, how do we wanna defend that?' And so there's still gonna be a very intentional, prepared approach from them that'll be calculated. But you never really know."

Cousins also had high praise for rookie Jordan Addison, who will be expected to step up in Jefferson's absence.

"It's pretty easy to build chemistry when guys are pretty good," Cousins said of his connection with Addison. "When you see him run routes in one-on-ones and OTAs you're like, 'OK, I think he can play.' And certainly in training camp as well. And Justin was the same way. Similar to Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs when I first got here, it's like, 'Hey, let's build chemistry,' and then you throw and you're like, 'I think the chemistry will be there, they're pretty good.' I think Jordan's the same way."

O'Connell echoed Cousins' praise.

"Shoot, he was one of my favorite players I evaluated in the draft, and couldn't have been more excited when Kwesi pulled the card," he said. "And since then it's just been positive after positive, outside of driving a little fast one time. My expectation is we hit the gas with Jordan this weekend. No pun intended."

Addison was listed as limited with an ankle injury on Wednesday's practice rpeort.

Also placed on the injured reserve list Wednesday was backup quarterback Nick Mullens. Fifth-round draft pick Jaren Hall was the No. 2 quarterback in the team's loss against the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Vikings also signed wide receivers N'Keal Harry and Trishton Jackson from the practice squad to the active roster. 

The Vikings' next four games are at the Chicago Bears, at home against the San Francisco 49ers, at the Green Bay Packers and at the Atlanta Falcons.

Jefferson has 36 catches for 571 yards and three touchdowns on the season. His yardage is third in the NFL among wide receivers.

The Vikings are 1-4 on the season and will now be without their best player until at least mid-November.

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