Kevin Seifert
EAGAN, Minn. — With his team mired in a 4-8 record, Minnesota Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson is facing yet another year without making a playoff run.
That realization sunk in during Sunday’s 26-0 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, as Jefferson spent part of the fourth quarter sitting despondently on a water cooler and then skipping his postgame news conference for the first time in his career.
Speaking Thursday to local reporters, Jefferson said that “the frustration and the emotions definitely were high after the game,” but he stopped well short of indicating that he is concerned about the team’s long-term direction. Amid six starts from second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy and one from rookie Max Brosmer, Jefferson is set to finish his sixth season without a playoff win. But he demurred Thursday when asked whether he is worried that the Vikings are wasting the prime of his career.
“No, I wouldn’t say wasted,” Jefferson said. “Obviously it’s a difficult season. It’s probably one of the most difficult seasons just off of the circumstances, having a young quarterback, having a different team, having young players on the team. So it’s just one of those years. Not every year is going to be a top-tier year for me. It’s really a part of the game, so it’s just all on me to expect a lot from these guys and to improve on anything that we need to improve on as an offense.”
Jefferson entered the season with an average of 96.5 receiving yards per game in his career, the highest in NFL history among qualified players. But in his seven games with McCarthy and Brosmer, he has averaged 46 yards. Overall this season, he ranks No. 12 in the NFL in receptions (60) and receiving yards (799), while catching only two touchdowns. He’ll need 601 receiving yards during the final five games to avoid setting a career low for a full season’s play.
“You have to have a lot of patience,” Jefferson said. “I mean, we’re 4-8. That’s definitely a difficult thing to go through. It’s definitely not exciting to lose games, and especially in front of our fans at home. Those are definitely things that I hate doing. I always was a kid that was a competitor at the highest level. I hated losing, hated losing board games. Those are all things that I hated losing. So of course I hate being in this situation and losing these games, but there’re going to be better times and there’s going to be a time where people cut on that TV and they’re talking all about us and they jumped on our bandwagon.”
Earlier this week, coach Kevin O’Connell said the team is well aware that it’s not performing to Jefferson’s standard.
“He obviously wants to win football games,” O’Connell said. “He’s as competitive as anybody I’ve ever been around, and he’s a leader on our team. Nobody is accepting any of the outcomes that we’re facing right now, regardless of the reason, regardless of the current state of where we’re at, nobody’s accepting that. And Justin certainly will never be asked to accept that. But he always … shows up with energy, and he’s going to have an impact on our organization at a really high level. And we’ve got to find ways to allow players just like Justin and Jordan [Addison] and some of our other players to have a chance to impact the game. And then, when they get those chances, we know that good things will happen.
“But it takes much more than just calling plays for them or having sequences in the games where they can have a high level of impact, because this game requires 10 other guys to operate at a standard to allow that to happen. And that’s what we’ve got to strive to have happen. And Justin plays a huge role in that as one of our captains.”
