Justin Jefferson waiting to return until hamstring is 100 percent
Though the Minnesota Vikings have officially designated wide receiver Justin Jefferson for return from injured reserve, according to the star, he won’t play until he’s 100% healthy. One of the league’s best receivers hasn’t played since he injured his hamstring in Week 5, which resulted in a move to Injured Reserve.
“Vikings’ WR Justin Jefferson — who has missed the past four games due to a hamstring injury — said he can’t yet put a date on when he might return,” NFL insider Adam Schefter shared on Thursday. “He said he wants to be 100 percent before he returns, but also still calls himself day to day.”
The Vikings play host to the Saints this Sunday. However, it doesn’t sound like Jefferson will see action in that game.
In an unexpected twist, Minnesota has won four games in a row after losing Jefferson. Plus, the Vikings lost quarterback Kirk Cousins for the season when he tore his Achilles against the Packers. Minnesota traded for Josh Dobbs on Halloween. Despite no prior work with the offense, Dobbs managed to lead the Vikings to a win over the Falcons on Sunday.
In 2022, Jefferson, the former LSU star had a career-high 1,809 receiving yards with eight touchdowns on 128 catches. So far this season, he has 36 catches, 571 yards and three touchdowns.
Vikings’ new QB Josh Dobbs sets NFL record
New Minnesota Vikings quarterback Josh Dobbs recorded an NFL first as he led the team to victory over the Falcons on Sunday. After his trade from the Arizona Cardinals to Minnesota, Dobbs became the first player in NFL history to record three touchdown performances in back-to-back weeks for two different teams.
First, the former Tennessee star posted 208 passing yards and two passing touchdowns with one rushing touchdown last week for the Cardinals against the Ravens. Then, he had two more touchdown passes and another rushing touchdown for the Vikings against Atlanta.
Dobbs was never even supposed to enter the Week 9 game against the Falcons. He only subbed in when rookie quarterback Jaren Hall suffered an injury that knocked him out of the game in the first quarter. The former Vol hadn’t participated in a full practice or even taken snaps from the starting center before taking over the offense – and doing it with aplomb.
Dobbs is certainly making the most of others’ misfortune this year. He has 1,727 passing yards, 324 rushing yards, 10 passing touchdowns and four rushing touchdowns, which is the most production he’s had in the NFL since leaving Tennessee as a fourth-round draft pick in 2017.