Justin Jefferson won’t play in Vikings’ ‘Monday Night Football’ game vs. Bears: Source

The Minnesota Vikings are not activating wide receiver Justin Jefferson from the injured reserve list ahead of Monday night’s game against the Chicago Bears, a league source confirmed. Here’s what you need to know:

Why aren’t the Vikings activating Jefferson?

The decision aligns with the team’s process alongside Jefferson from the beginning. Both parties agreed from the outset to prioritize Jefferson’s long-term health — both for later in the 2023 season, and, more importantly, even beyond. Hamstring issues tend to crop up often, especially if they do not heal properly. The Vikings informed Jefferson of this. Jefferson, who has been steadfast about his desire to return to help the 2023 Vikings team, absorbed the feedback and charted a path toward full recovery. Nearly seven weeks have passed since Jefferson first suffered the injury, and Jefferson has ramped up his practice work in the last couple of weeks. Still, the Vikings will enter a bye week after Monday night’s game, meaning Jefferson will essentially have two extra weeks to recover before his expected return on Dec. 10 in Las Vegas against the Raiders. — Alec Lewis, Vikings beat writer

What does this mean for Monday night’s matchup?

Running the football will be difficult. Jefferson’s presence not only impacts Minnesota’s offense in the passing game. He possesses a gravity that forces defenses to allocate additional defenders into coverage, as opposed to in the box. When he’s removed from the equation, defenses can focus on stopping the Vikings’ rushing attack, and that’s what Chicago is likely to do. The result of struggles in the run game is more third-and-long situations, and more third-and-long situations mean a more disjointed offense. The onus will fall on head coach and play-caller Kevin O’Connell, quarterback Josh Dobbs, the Vikings’ offensive line and the team’s running backs to operate with less of a margin for error, as they’ve done in their 5-1 record since Week 6. — Lewis

Backstory

Jefferson ranked third in the NFL in both targets (53) and receiving yards (571) at the time of the hamstring injury. Since being selected in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft by Minnesota, Jefferson has been one of the league’s best players.

He has had at least 1,400 receiving yards each season and led the NFL with 128 catches for 1,809 yards in 2022.

The Vikings picked up Jefferson’s fifth-year contract option in April, and despite talks of a long-term extension happening last offseason, he and the team have yet to agree to a deal.

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(Photo: Stephen Maturen / Getty Images)