Vikings officially place WR Justin Jefferson on injured reserve

Minnesota coach Kevin O’Connell said earlier this week that he might need to protect Justin Jefferson from himself. The superstar Vikings receiver will try to play through injury, including a severe one.

On Wednesday, Minnesota placed Jefferson on Injured Reserve, meaning he’ll miss at least four games. It’s all because he strained his hamstring in a loss to the Chiefs last Sunday.

O’Connell told reporters, Monday, that the medical staff would ask for a “couple of different opinions” on how to treat Jefferson’s painful strain. At the time, everyone was waiting for MRI results.

“We have to get the MRI of it and take a look and find out exactly what it is, where it is, if there’s any other factors that go into it,” O’Connell said. “And determine what the best decision for him to get him back to 100 percent as fast as possible.

“He obviously is one of the most ultra-competitors that I’ve ever met,” the coach said. “And shoot, he was trying to go back in the game as it was. So we’re going to have to medically make a good decision and help almost protect him from himself a little bit in a way where we have to take care of him and get him back to 100 percent.”

Besides the Justin Jefferson move, the Vikings also placed backup quarterback Nick Mullens on the IR list. He has an issue with his back, which surfaced in week five. Minnesota brought in veteran Colt McCoy for a tryout this week. However, the Vikings added Sean Mannion, a former Oregon State star, to the practice squad. Mannon was a third-round pick of the Rams in 2015 and played for the Vikings in 2021.

And with Justin Jefferson on IR, the Vikings promoted receivers N’Keal Harry and Trishton Jackson from their practice squad. They then added receiver Dan Chisena and tight end Troy Fumagalli to their practice squad.

This is an obvious statement, but it’s going to be difficult to replace Justin Jefferson’s production over the next month. The 2020 first rounder from LSU has never missed a start. In three years plus five games, he’s caught 360 passes for 5,396 yards and 28 touchdowns. This season, his 36 receptions are tied for sixth best in the NFL. His 571 yards rank third in the league.

The Vikings selected former USC star Jordan Addison in this year’s draft. He’s third on the team with 18 catches. Six of them came last Sunday against the Chiefs. Tight end T.J. Hockenson is second on the team behind Justin Jefferson with 30 receptions for 254 yards.

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