Justin Jefferson Shares Honest Perspective On Vikings QB for Next Season

JJettas knows he can perform no matter who is under center.
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson on Jan 13, 2025.
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson on Jan 13, 2025. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
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As is the case with many franchises, the Minnesota Vikings have a lot of decisions to make this offseason following their exit from the postseason. And the most pressing on their list? Who's playing quarterback.

A few weeks ago, a betting individual would have put their money on veteran Sam Darnold, who was putting up a career performance while rookie J.J. McCarthy recovered from injury. But the 27-year-old flubbed the final stretch of the season, including Monday night's wild-card loss to the Los Angeles Rams, where, among other issues, he was sacked a total of nine times. With that, it's looking increasingly likely the team hands things over to McCarthy, and Darnold either heads to the bench or leaves for a new home in free agency; head coach Kevin O'Connell even seemed to signal as much in a post-game presser.

Whoever they choose, though, at least star wide receiver Justin Jefferson, a key piece of Minnesota's offense, is unconcerned.

"I didn't know who my quarterback was going to be [after last season], and I really didn't care," Jefferson said Monday night, per ESPN. "At the end of the day, I'll always say that I'm confident in myself to perform the same way I've been performing. But it's not my job to say who is going to be the quarterback or who do I want to be the quarterback. At the end of the day, they're going to figure it out, and whoever they decide to go with, we can work with that."

Jefferson was in a similar situation last year as quarterback Kirk Cousins headed into free agency, so he's no stranger to the uncertainty here. At least he's confident in his output no matter what, which is a bit of welcome confidence for the Vikings going forward.


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Brigid Kennedy
BRIGID KENNEDY

Brigid Kennedy is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, she covered political news, sporting news and culture at TheWeek.com before moving to Livingetc, an interior design magazine. She is a graduate of Syracuse University, dual majoring in television, radio and film (from the Newhouse School of Public Communications) and marketing managment (from the Whitman School of Management). Offline, she enjoys going to the movies, reading and watching the Steelers.