O’Connell: Vikes ‘never’ mulled trading Jefferson

EAGAN, Minn. — Tuesday was a day for celebration at the Minnesota Vikings‘ practice facility. With the ink still fresh on Justin Jefferson‘s new four-year, $140 million contract extension, the Vikings paraded Jefferson throughout the building.

Players erupted when he walked into the locker room. A news conference took place in the team’s indoor media facility, an area where they typically introduce draft picks — an exercise Jefferson missed out on during the 2020 pandemic offseason.

“This was a really cool day to be a part of,” coach Kevin O’Connell said, “and one that we’ve been looking forward to for a very long time.”

There was one final bit of business to attend to, however. Speaking after Jefferson’s return to the practice field on the Vikings’ first day of mandatory minicamp, O’Connell said he wanted to “unequivocally” tamp down any and all rumors that the team considered trading Jefferson during the 18-month negotiation process.

“There’s a certain way that we kind of do business,” O’Connell said. “When you hear certain things — a lot of things come and go — and you kind of chalk it up to what they are. But when there’s things that are so far outside the realm of what’s actually happening and taking place, you find yourself wanting to come out and say, which I will unequivocally: We never, ever, one time, discussed it internally among the leadership.

“Some people have sources far and wide, but among the leadership, among the decision-makers, the people that are directly involved in the situation, there really was not one time that was ever discussed, game-planned [or] contingency planned. And I think that’s really important, because it’s not just about the result today, it’s about the process of which we’re pretty proud of.”

The Vikings made Jefferson the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL, as his average of $35 million in new money eclipsed by $1 million annually the deal that San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa signed in 2023. Although pass-rushers and left tackles more typically carry that title, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said he had no problem applying it to a receiver.

“It really depends on the team you are, how you run your offense and how you run your defense and what it means,” Adofo-Mensah said. “At the end of the day, you want to pay premier players who can produce while making other people’s jobs easier. That can come a lot of different ways, at a lot of different positions.”

Jefferson said the contract solidifies him as “the top receiver in the league,” and he spoke with emotion about setting up his family, and generations to come, financially.

“But it was more to it than just the money,” Jefferson said. “I want to be the best player to ever do it. In order to do that, I’ve got to keep performing at my highest ability. With that, money is going to be involved, but that wasn’t my main concern.”

In the meantime, Jefferson said he will focus on mentoring rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who might not open the season as a starter but will eventually ascend to that role. Of all the factors he considered during the contract negotiations, Jefferson insisted that the identity of his quarterback was not one of them.

“All the quarterback changes that happened, that didn’t really affect me that much,” he said. “It really didn’t matter who was going to be able to throw the ball. I’m always confident in myself and confident in who’s throwing the ball to give me those types of opportunities and let me go make a play for the team.”

While having veteran Kirk Cousins on the roster might have made life simpler over the previous four seasons, Jefferson said, McCarthy’s early display of attributes is encouraging.

“Having Kirk was a little bit more easier, him being a veteran and me pretty much coming into the league with him as my quarterback,” he said. “Things were a lot easier. But of course, things are not always going to be that type of way. There are things that are going to change. You can’t really look back on the past and dwell on that …

“Having J.J. into the building, a new energy, a new soul. I mean, I love [McCarthy’s] confidence. I love his attitude, and of course him coming off a championship, you can’t have any more confidence than that. So that confidence is going to continue to be with him. It’s just my job to really install that into his brain throughout the whole entire season and give him that extra confidence by throwing me the ball.”