MINNEAPOLIS — Vikings star receiver Justin Jefferson suffered a left hamstring strain during Thursday’s practice and will be held out for the time being, head coach Kevin O’Connell said Friday.

The team will “re-evaluate him next week,” O’Connell said. Jefferson sat out the second half of Thursday’s practice, after which he said he felt tightness in both of his legs. He underwent further testing on his left leg that revealed a “very mild” hamstring strain, O’Connell said.

“We’re going to be really cautious, obviously,” O’Connell said Friday. “It is not the same leg from a couple years ago.”

“I credit Justin just for his ability to recognize how he was feeling,” he added, “and the fact we were able to avoid anything major.”

Jefferson missed seven games — the longest absence of his NFL career — during the 2023 season due to a right hamstring strain suffered in a home game against the Chiefs.

O’Connell said he has “no concerns” about Jefferson’s availability for the Sept. 8 opener in Chicago on “Monday Night Football.” He declined to give a timetable for Jefferson’s return to practice.

“All I worry about is the next time we’re evaluating him and see how he can start working back in,” O’Connell said. “We’re going to want to be smart with him knowing we’ve got quite a bit of time to prepare. ... We know Justin, at this point in his career, is going to be ready to roll.”

O’Connell was asked whether Jefferson’s injury is disappointing given his continued work with new quarterback J.J. McCarthy, the 22-year-old signal caller who will make his NFL debut this season.

“Disappointing is the wrong word,” O’Connell said. “I think those guys have already developed a rapport. There’s going to be some reps [missed] as we finish off the acclimation period, and as we work into putting on the pads next week, like I said, I have no worries about this having an overall impact on that dynamic or anything with our offense.”

Jefferson, drafted in 2020’s first round, has not played a single snap in a NFL preseason game since his rookie exhibitions were canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

O’Connell said Jefferson’s first preseason snap “was not going to happen” this year regardless.

Ex-Vikings linebacker retires

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski, the former Vikings assistant, lost a strong linebacker and member of his locker room on Friday when ex-Vikings team captain Jordan Hicks announced his retirement.

Hicks, 33, was entering his 11th NFL season as Browns training camp began this week. He helped reshape the Vikings locker room as one of the first free-agent additions in 2022, when the team hired O’Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. Hicks started 31 games over two years in Minnesota.

“Football has given me more than I could have ever imagined,” Hicks wrote on his Instagram account. “Purpose, discipline, brotherhood, and a platform to impact others. But most importantly it showed me who I am outside the game. I leave this chapter with deep gratitude for every lesson, challenge, and victory. I’m proud of what I accomplished on the field, but even more proud of the man I’ve become because of it.”

Hicks, who played seven seasons for the Eagles and Cardinals, started 12 games for the Browns last season.

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