Stephen A. Smith explains why he's 'disgusted' with the Minnesota Vikings

Stephen A. Smith is "disgusted with the Minnesota Vikings," he said on ESPN's First Take on Thursday.

Why? Smith's take has to do with what the Vikings' offseason quarterback decision has meant for superstar wide receiver Justin Jefferson, whose numbers are worse than they've ever been.

"I wouldn't blame Justin Jefferson if he asked to be traded," Smith said. "I'm disgusted with the Minnesota Vikings."

Here's his explanation.

"(Kwesi Adofo-Mensah) and Kevin O'Connell made a joint decision (at quarterback), and they miscalculated. And I understand why. Because Sam Darnold was a free agent, you had him on a one-year, $10 million deal, you're looking to move on because this brother played so well for the most part last year that he was gonna position himself to at least triple his salary, and that's exactly what he did. ... He went from a one-year, $10 million deal to a three-year, $100 million deal. We understand that there's reluctance on the part of any NFL team to make that kind of investment because that's money, with a hard-cap system, that you could utilize and allocate elsewhere. I got that.

"But here's my problem. This is Justin Jefferson, y'all. This is an all-world receiver. The first five years of his NFL career, we weren't talking about him being great, we were talking legacy. We were talking about whether or not he was gonna be in that conversation with the Jerry Rices and Randy Moss and others of the world. That's the level of greatness we're talking about. What you don't do with somebody like that is take away their damn quarterback. For a rookie that is unproven. You don't do that. That's my issue with Minnesota."

"I wouldn't blame Justin Jefferson if he asked to be traded. I'm disgusted with the Minnesota Vikings." 😳@stephenasmith on if the Vikings are wasting Justin Jefferson's prime 👀 pic.twitter.com/yrvIrxAs63
— First Take (@FirstTake) November 27, 2025

There's no question that Jefferson's production has been impacted by the Vikings' risky move to let Darnold depart and go with young quarterback J.J. McCarthy. He came into this season averaging an NFL record 96.5 receiving yards per game in the first five years of his career. This year, he's at 72.3, but most of that production came when McCarthy was hurt and Carson Wentz was at QB. In six games with McCarthy, Jefferson has averaged a stunningly-low 53 yards per contest.

And yes, on a broader scale, the Vikings' decision to not re-sign Darnold — who they'll see this Sunday when they take on the Seahawks — and to hand the keys to McCarthy has not worked out. Darnold is having an incredible year in Seattle. McCarthy is off to a historically bad six-game start to his career.

But the primary issue with Smith's argument is that the Vikings' goal isn't to get Jefferson as many receiving yards as possible. Their goal is to win the Super Bowl. Five years into Jefferson's career, for as great as he's been and as many records as he's broken, the Vikings had made two postseason appearances and been bounced in the first round both times.

Their incredible 2024 season ended in a thud with blowout losses to the Lions and Rams. Darnold struggled mightily in both games. At the time, the consensus opinion was that the Vikings should let someone else pay Darnold, take a swing on McCarthy, and use the savings to build up their offensive and defensive lines. That's exactly what Adofo-Mensah did.

Jan 13, 2025; Glendale, AZ, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) reacts as he walks off the field after losing to the Los Angeles Rams during an NFC wild card game at State Farm Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Has the plan worked? Nope. McCarthy is already verging on 'bust' territory, and the veteran players the Vikings signed in free agency haven't made the collective impact Minnesota was hoping for. They're 4-7 and careening toward a top-ten draft pick. Meanwhile, the Seahawks are 8-3 and huge favorites this weekend, having benefited greatly from their decision to sign Darnold.

But that doesn't mean the Vikings made the wrong decision with the information that was available to them at the time, especially when you consider that Darnold still has to prove he can get over the hump against teams like the Rams. To suggest that the Vikings should've re-signed him is easy to do in hindsight, but most people didn't think it was the right move last winter.

As for Jefferson, he's handled McCarthy's struggles and a frustrating season with extreme patience and professionalism. He wants to win and he wants to make plays, but there's zero reason to think he's even considered asking the Vikings for a trade.

More Vikings coverage