Justin Jefferson Staying Engaged, Calling 'A Few' Plays While Rehabbing

Jul 29, 2025 at 02:20 PM

Lindsey Young

Writer & Editor

EAGAN, Minn. — There's been an extra coach at Vikings Training Camp the past few days.

Justin Jefferson isn't currently practicing because of a minor hamstring injury, but the wide receiver still is very much involved.

Fans who have attended a session at TCO Performance Center recently have seen Jefferson, wearing a purple No. 18 T-shirt, on the field with his teammates sans helmet.

"He's so important to our team," Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell said. "Justin wants to be out there, be around, wants to be present with his teammates — but not just the receivers group, the offense."

O'Connell referenced Monday's 2-minute drill, where Minnesota's first- and second-team defense outperformed the offensive units.

"I heard him," he said of Jefferson. "Not in a negative way but just, 'Hey, we know we've gotta do better than that. We'll get another chance here in a couple days.' That was my challenge to him: There's a lot of ways we can maximize this time as one of our captains, a guy that sets the tone in this building, and he's knocking it out of the park."

Vikings cameras on Saturday captured Jefferson briefly taking over O'Connell's radio to relay a play call to the huddle.

O'Connell said he's "let him call a few short ones" — upon which Jefferson has realized the job might be a little more difficult than it looks.

"He complained about how long the play was, and then the quarterbacks complained that, you know, they didn't quite understand things that Justin maybe said a little different than the kid from San Diego," O'Connell quipped of himself. "And 'kid' is a loose term for me, obviously."

Although Jefferson and McCarthy aren't able to get live reps together right now, the receiver-quarterback duo is spending plenty of time together on the sideline or in the meeting rooms.

O'Connell said he appreciates their dialogue post-practice as well as during, with Jefferson staying mentally engaged from behind the play.

"There are some things that are kind of 'for Justin' that we've built over the past three years," O'Connell explained, "so we'll give some other guys some reps at that, and it'll be a huge opportunity for not only J.A. (Jordan Addison) and T.J. [Hockenson] and Speedy (Jalen Nailor), but some of our down-the-line guys that are trying to make our team, as well."

While Jefferson wouldn't — even if healthy — play in the Vikings three preseason games, the team still hopes to get him back participating in practice before the end of training camp.

O'Connell said rehab is "going really well" and they're seeing Jefferson positively progress.

"It could end up being a blessing in disguise in a lot of ways, where Justin's mentally preparing and engaging with his teammates," O'Connell said. "He's totally present every single day, but at the same time, we're trying to build him up for 17-plus games. And we're just very fortunate we were able to get out in front of things the way we did.

"[We're getting] him totally ready to roll for the grind; the guy plays 70-plus snaps a week," O'Connell later emphasized. "What we ask him to do is just flat-out remarkable that he's able to consistently do that, but you still want to have him back sooner rather than later.

"Like I said, I have zero worry about the opener, but there's a lot of time between now and then what that looks like," he added. "We're going to be smart. But at the same time, he wants to get back out there, because he does not want to stay wearing what I wear in practice for much longer."