EAGAN, Minn. — A $140 million contract extension can buy you a lot of things as an NFL player. But it can’t pay your way out of a costly injury. If there’s anything that the Minnesota Vikings and wide receiver Justin Jefferson know as they approach the 2024 season, it’s that.
This is why Minnesota’s $35 million-per-season receiver was on a bit of a mileage count this week, taking a veteran rest day on Wednesday and then rolling that into the team’s day off on Thursday as the Vikings and Jefferson have been carefully handling his health in training camp. All in an effort to avoid repeating something like last season’s torn right hamstring, which cost Jefferson seven games and introduced the young wideout to a something that he’d never experienced in the expanse of his football career: sitting when his team needed him more than ever.
The response? Some early load management for the 25-year-old, whose early camp wear and tear is being monitored on a daily basis in hopes of making sure he’s available for a 17-game season.
“I’m so scared for it to happen again, I’ve been overly cautious about it,” Jefferson said Friday about his hamstring injury last season.
