Justin Jefferson Trade: Are Jets Interested in All-Pro Receiver?
Are the Minnesota Vikings going to let the best wide receiver in football walk without coming to terms with a new contract?
Justin Jefferson is entering the final year of his rookie contract with the Vikings in 2024, and negotiations haven't gone too far to this point. With the NFL salary cap increasing $30 million from the previous year, the LSU product is line for the largest contract every given to a receiver in league history.
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With a massive extension looming large, and the potential to get some massive draft capital back, it's not out of the realm of possibility that the Vikings could move on from their All-Pro wideout.
Now, before we get into the craziness of a top player like Jefferson being made in a trade, it's fair to point out that every single team in need of wide receiver help this offseason should put in a call to see the kind of cost for a player of Jefferson's caliber.
In four seasons with Minnesota, the former LSU star has caught 392 passes for 5,899 yards, and 30 touchdowns. He was named Offensive Player of the Year in 2022 after leading the league in catches and yards. Despite an injury-riddled 2023 campaign, Jefferson still managed to record over a 1,000 yards receiving and 68 catches.
Simply put: no receiver has been as dominant as Jefferson since he came into the league in 2020.
If the Vikings were to surprise everyone by putting their top wideout on the trade block, trade talks will be highly complex. After all, how high will a team value one of the best offensive players in football, and what would that value even look like for a non-QB?
For a team like the New York Jets who need a quality top option to pair with former offensive rookie of the year Garrett Wilson, acquiring a player like Jefferson is something that would shock everyone both inside and outside the team facility Florham Park.
It would also mean a serious giveaway of assets - something that the Jets aren't really rich with to begin with.
While New York does have both first round picks in this year and next year's draft, they only have three total picks in the top 64 for the following two years. That means the Vikings could very well ask for two or all of those picks in order to begin any trade conversation for Jefferson's services.
There is certainly a way to potentially get a deal done, though.
Any potential deal for a top player like the 24-year-old has to begin and end with at least one first-round pick and a second round pick the following year. Consider the AJ Brown trade which cost Philadelphia a first-round, and third round pick. Brown was the same age as Jefferson is now, but wasn't nearly as productive as the latter so a second-rounder seems like the worst possible option.
Could the 10th overall pick, and a 2025 second-rounder be enough to get the Vikings to come to the negotiating table?
Even if a trade could be agreed upon, the Jets would need to do plenty of cap gymnastics to keep the All-Pro with them for the long-term. With extensions coming for Wilson, First-Team All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner, running back Breece Hall, and edge rusher Jermaine Johnson, there is a lot of cap space that will need to be allocated to 2025 regardless.
Of course, it's important to remember that any annual contract amount that Jefferson were to end up earning does not mean that he would actually count against the cap for that amount.
Tyreek Hill's $30 million annual value was not his cap hit for the first two years of his contract - the same will be the case when Jefferson gets a new contract to begin with. So the Jets could absolutely pay an extension to Jefferson, Hall, Wilson, and Johnson while still keeping the rest of the roster competitive.
General manager Joe Douglas has a background in cap manipulation - he should be able to accomplish that without an issue.
It all comes back to this, though. Jefferson is a top-five player in the NFL. Should the Vikings make him available, the Jets need to do everything possible to bring him in.
Not only because it will excite Aaron Rodgers in 2024 and beyond, but it will give the team an excellent chance to maximize their current championship window.
