A New Justin Jefferson Trade Proposal Just Dropped

No player is really untradable in the NFL. Who would’ve thought that Randy Moss would ever be shipped out? In the 60s, the same franchise even traded superstar passer Fran Tarkenton to the New York Giants. This era’s Moss or Tarkenton is Justin Jefferson. Fans would riot if he were included in any trade deal.

A New Justin Jefferson Trade Proposal Just Dropped

But that doesn’t prevent media entities from including the man in their wild theories, no matter how unlikely they may be. In all fairness, CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin knows his five trade proposals are unrealistic. He published an article with five “NBA-style” trade ideas and even mentioned the low odds.

Benjamin introduced his article: “The NBA is nothing if not spectacular, particularly when it comes to player movement. Summer is almost synonymous with NBA free agency, and already the 2025 market has produced some whoppers, including Kevin Durant’s move to the Houston Rockets in a record seven-team trade. You see, when big names are shopped in basketball, they are shopped with oomf, bringing a more-than-healthy dose of drama to the offseason.”

He then revived an old idea of reuniting Jefferson with former college teammates Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase. The first problem is obvious: The notoriously cheap Bengals would have to pay one of the top earners at QB, as well as pay $75 million a year to the pair of wideouts.

Anyway, this is Benjamin’s idea of a four-team trade.

• Bengals get: WR Justin Jefferson (Vikings), DE Julian Okwara (Browns)
• Vikings get: WR Tee Higgins (Bengals), CB Greg Newsome II (Browns), 2026 first-round pick (Bengals), 2026 third-round pick (Lions)
• Lions get: EDGE Trey Hendrickson (Bengals)
• Browns get: 2026 fourth-round pick (Lions)

The Vikings would get quite the sweet haul. Tee Higgins is an elite WR2 who could easily pass as a WR1 elsewhere. Greg Newsome would give Brian Flores another CB option, and suddenly, the Vikings would have an extra first and third, paired with the likely arrival of another third-round comp pick next offseason.

Unusually for the current Vikings regime, the organization still holds next year’s picks in the top three rounds. With all those picks, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah could grab a bunch of rookies. But it’s still Jefferson and he’s not on the trade block by any means.

Benjamin explained, “This might be the most outlandish of the bunch, if only because Jefferson is as close to untouchable as anyone in the NFL. The Vikings have rightly and swiftly extinguished any and all speculation regarding the wideout’s trade availability in the past, and ‘Jets’ has done the same.”

There were some trade rumors last offseason, but those were mainly media ideas rather than actual sources. When Jefferson signed his massive four-year extension, those ideas quickly vanished.

Still, for all non-Vikings fans, seeing Jefferson in an offense with one of the league’s top passers and the other superstar receiver would be electric, oh, and those three were college teammates at LSU.

“But the one place he might be OK moving is Cincinnati, for the chance at reuniting with former LSU stars Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase,” Benjamin added. “The Bengals, meanwhile, have expensive trade chips of their own in Higgins and Hendrickson, the latter of whom has been angling for a pay raise — or move out of town — for years.”

Something that might also hurt is that Detroit comes out of the deal as winners, too. Suddenly, they have an elite pass-rushing duo by giving up only a pair of mid-round picks.

Benjamin concluded, “Can you imagine Burrow’s delight if given the chance to capitalize on a title window with the two best pass catchers in the game? And can you imagine Detroit’s satisfaction if it can pull Hendrickson from the deal, pairing the Pro Bowler with Aidan Hutchinson after trying but failing to trade up for pass rushing help this spring?”

A pretty good receiver, another CB, a first-rounder, and a third-rounder would be a nice get, but not enough for most Vikings fans if Jefferson is the price.

Anyway, this is Benjamin’s idea of a four-team trade.

• Bengals get: WR Justin Jefferson (Vikings), DE Julian Okwara (Browns)
• Vikings get: WR Tee Higgins (Bengals), CB Greg Newsome II (Browns), 2026 first-round pick (Bengals), 2026 third-round pick (Lions)
• Lions get: EDGE Trey Hendrickson (Bengals)
• Browns get: 2026 fourth-round pick (Lions)

The Vikings would get quite the sweet haul. Tee Higgins is an elite WR2 who could easily pass as a WR1 elsewhere. Greg Newsome would give Brian Flores another CB option, and suddenly, the Vikings would have an extra first and third, paired with the likely arrival of another third-round comp pick next offseason.

Unusually for the current Vikings regime, the organization still holds next year’s picks in the top three rounds. With all those picks, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah could grab a bunch of rookies. But it’s still Jefferson and he’s not on the trade block by any means.

Benjamin explained, “This might be the most outlandish of the bunch, if only because Jefferson is as close to untouchable as anyone in the NFL. The Vikings have rightly and swiftly extinguished any and all speculation regarding the wideout’s trade availability in the past, and ‘Jets’ has done the same.”

There were some trade rumors last offseason, but those were mainly media ideas rather than actual sources. When Jefferson signed his massive four-year extension, those ideas quickly vanished.

Still, for all non-Vikings fans, seeing Jefferson in an offense with one of the league’s top passers and the other superstar receiver would be electric, oh, and those three were college teammates at LSU.

“But the one place he might be OK moving is Cincinnati, for the chance at reuniting with former LSU stars Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase,” Benjamin added. “The Bengals, meanwhile, have expensive trade chips of their own in Higgins and Hendrickson, the latter of whom has been angling for a pay raise — or move out of town — for years.”

Something that might also hurt is that Detroit comes out of the deal as winners, too. Suddenly, they have an elite pass-rushing duo by giving up only a pair of mid-round picks.

Benjamin concluded, “Can you imagine Burrow’s delight if given the chance to capitalize on a title window with the two best pass catchers in the game? And can you imagine Detroit’s satisfaction if it can pull Hendrickson from the deal, pairing the Pro Bowler with Aidan Hutchinson after trying but failing to trade up for pass rushing help this spring?”

A pretty good receiver, another CB, a first-rounder, and a third-rounder would be a nice get, but not enough for most Vikings fans if Jefferson is the price.