Justin Jefferson usually forces other teams to take risks when guarding him on the gridiron. The Vikings star took his own risk on a dirt lot.
Most would agree that Justin Jefferson is the face of the Minnesota Vikings. Some might even take it one step further. They might say that Justin Jefferson is one of the faces of the NFL.
The Minnesota Vikings have had at least one 1,000-yard receiver every season since 2020. They can thank Justin Jefferson for that. Every season since he joined the league in 2020, he has earned at least 1000 yards. His lone season below 1400 yards was when he missed seven games due to injury, and the Vikings had quarterback health problems.
Aside from that, the wide receiver has been essentially perfect. Jefferson appears to know how important he is, considering he commented on the Vikings’ quarterback situation. However, his first critical mistake has left Shannon Sharpe calling for the Vikings to speak with him.
Shannon Sharpe pressures Vikings to deal with Justin Jefferson
Jefferson’s humble attitude didn’t come through in the video of his dangerous stunt, and Shannon Sharpe called for the receiver to get a talking to as a result on a March 28 edition of “Nightcap.”
“I’m surprised. I would be shocked if the Vikings don’t call him. I got $140 million tied up in you. That’s the same thing when people play basketball, Hey, man, I’m just going out here. Get me a run, and then when you blow your knee out. Then what?” he said.
“When guys were skiing, skiing used to be a big thing. Guys blow their knees out. Then what? We don’t think things that happen to common people, because we’re doing what regular people don’t do, right? So by doing what other people don’t do, we don’t think the thing that happened to them can happen to us,” he added.
Jefferson was seen in a video riding an ATV in what appeared to be a dirt lot. He wasn’t wearing a helmet and didn’t appear to be wearing pads. Had the ATV flipped or otherwise crashed, it could have caused an injury that might have hurt the team in September.
It will be clear if the Vikings reached out to remind the wide receiver of the importance of his health. If he wears a helmet in another video or doesn’t post a similar video on an ATV, it will be clear that an exchange between the receiver and perhaps Kevin O’Connell took place.
JJ McCarthy serves as example of why caution is king
While JJ McCarthy didn’t injure himself doing an extreme sport like riding an ATV, he did suffer an injury in a non-critical situation. The quarterback was injured in an August 10 preseason game and forced the Vikings to pivot to Sam Darnold.
It luckily worked out for the team in the end, but it could have cost them everything. While JJ McCarthy is not at fault for what took place, the team took a risk outside of the regular season and it cost them. Jefferson is taking risks outside of the preseason for recreational purposes.
It will fall on the wide receiver to act with caution as an injury to him is an injury to the Vikings.
