Justin Jefferson Returning to Vikings Practice Ahead of Preseason Finale

The star pass catcher has been held out for most of training camp with a hamstring injury.

Justin Jefferson has missed the majority of training camp with a hamstring injury. / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Rejoice, Vikings fans. You're (hopefully) getting your best player back ahead of the 2025 season.

As relayed by head coach Kevin O'Connell, star wide receiver Justin Jefferson will return to the practice field on Monday as he begins a ramp-up period before Minnesota's season opener. He has missed the majority of training camp with a hamstring injury.

"You'll see him [at practice]," O'Connell said when prodded about Jefferson's status for Week 1. "He will begin to take part in practice. It'll be kind of a ramp-up. You'll see him take part in bits and pieces of it here, but he will officially be back to work and be ramping up from here. So glad you asked."

Justin Jefferson will begin to take part in practice this week pic.twitter.com/9vxHX0U3mv

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) August 18, 2025

Jefferson was selected by the Vikings in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft and has quickly become one of the league's top pass catchers. He's tallied five consecutive 1,000+ yard seasons to begin his career, has been named a Pro Bowler four times, a First-team All-Pro twice, and was voted as the AP Offensive Player of the Year in 2022.

Now, once fully healthy, he'll look to help second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy settle into his first season as an NFL starter. The Vikings open up the 2025 season on Monday, Sept. 8 against the Chicago Bears.

---

More NFL on Sports Illustrated

feed