Amid a difficult season, Vikings star WR Justin Jefferson says, 'I would never sit there and give up on this team'

MINNEAPOLIS — Whatever Justin Jefferson’s body language might have seemed to say during Sunday’s 26-0 loss in Seattle, the Vikings wide receiver used his words Thursday to make clear his current feelings about the state of his team’s season.

“The season isn’t over,” Jefferson said. “We still have five games left. I would never sit there and give up on this team and just quit. The preparation still has to be the same.”

Jefferson’s comments during his weekly news conference were his first since the Vikings offense was shut out by the Seahawks and he was held to two catches on six targets for four net yards.

The 26-year-old star declined to speak postgame for the first time this season as the Vikings fell to 4-8 with four straight losses.

He told a crowded scrum of reporters on Thursday that he felt his postgame message would have been the same as it had been in recent weeks, and that “the frustration and emotions definitely was high after the game.”

The frustration is valid, and Vikings staff have spoken throughout recent weeks about the grace and poise Jefferson has shown through it.

Jefferson is tracking for just over 1,100 yards through season’s end at his current yards-per-game average (66.6). His season low when he appeared in every regular-season game is 1,400 in his rookie year in 2020.

Jefferson said this season has been among the most difficult of his career, in part because of working with young quarterback J.J. McCarthy through his struggles, but he said he wouldn’t call it a waste of one of his prime years.

“Not every year is gonna be a top-tier year for me,” Jefferson said. “It’s really a part of the game.”

Jefferson has gained more than 100 receiving yards only twice this season, both in games with Carson Wentz playing quarterback. More jarring is that he’s finished with more than 50 yards only five times.

Two of those have been with McCarthy throwing him the ball, the most recent being Jefferson’s five-catch, 61-yard performance in the 19-17 loss to the Bears on Nov. 16.

Jefferson has never finished a season with fewer than 1,000 yards, even when he appeared in just 10 games because of injury in 2023.

But Jefferson and those around him have emphasized the frustration comes more in the losing record than in the loss of momentum toward any records Jefferson’s first five seasons have set him up to chase.

“As I’ve mentioned before, he’s as competitive as anybody I’ve ever been around. He’s a leader on our team and nobody is accepting any sort of, the outcomes we’re facing right now,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said Wednesday. “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, like he did today, he shows up with energy and he’s gonna have an impact on our organization at a really high level.”

The day-to-day energy of a player of Jefferson’s stature around the facility does have an impact on the team. It’s part of the reason O’Connell asked Jefferson to have a larger presence during offseason practices. Jefferson obliged, participating in organized team activities and continuing to attend training camp even while sidelined because of a hamstring injury.

Despite how the season itself has gone, tight end T.J. Hockenson spoke Wednesday of Jefferson not stepping off the gas at practice, “routing up guys as much as he always routes up guys” and honing his craft in meetings.

McCarthy said that Jefferson’s “not a me guy,” and that Jefferson’s demeanor toward him despite his struggles has been “something amazing.”

Running back Aaron Jones Sr. stole a phrase from running backs coach Curtis Modkins, calling Jefferson an “energy multiplier.”

“Whenever he steps in the huddle, everybody’s confidence goes up,” Jones said. “You can tell people are comfortable with him when they see him in the huddle. Part of that’s ‘cause of the leadership that he has and the other part is the player that he is.”

There’s a reason Jefferson is watched with such a careful lens, particularly this season, and it’s not just the standard he’s set for his on-field production.

His talent and work ethic inherently make him a leader. And while he’s long led by example, his vocal leadership has taken strides the past two years.

Hockenson said he remembers arriving in Minnesota in November 2023 and not even talking to Jefferson for a few days because of how quiet the receiver was.

That’s changed, and Jefferson has learned the value his words can have.

“Leading by example is one thing, but going out there and being vocal, telling the guys what’s on my mind, telling the guys what I expect of the offense, of the team, it goes even longer than just staying quiet and doing what I’m supposed to do,” Jefferson said. “It’s a long time coming from being a shy kid to turning around being the vocal leader and being one of the faces of the team.”