After Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson took to social media to announce that he and the Vikings had come to an agreement on four-year, $140 million contract extension, the general manager of the Vikings, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, also released a statement of his own:
“From the moment I arrived in Minnesota, Justin has consistently proven to be one of the best players in the NFL on and off the field and we are excited about having him as a cornerstone of our team for a long time to come,” Adofo-Mensah said in a statement, per Craig Peters of Vikings.com. “He is the living embodiment of our culture with his joyful dedication to process and our goals. We couldn't be more excited for Justin and his family.”
Now on the surface, this is what you'd expect the general manager of the Minnesota Vikings to say after inking Justin Jefferson to the richest deal a non-quarterback has ever signed in league history, but it raises the question: wait, didn't the Vikings entertain the idea of trading Justin Jefferson around the time of the NFL Draft? On multiple occasions, the Vikings were rumored to be in talks with teams around the league regarding a deal centered on Jefferson, but ESPN.com's Adam Schefter made it perfectly clear that the Vikings were never going to part ways with their superstar receiver.
“There were multiple teams this offseason that inquired about trading for Jefferson, according to league sources,” writes Adam Schefter. “But the Vikings let each one of them know they had zero intention of trading Jefferson, who is off to a historic four-year start in the NFL.”
In reality, Minnesota's front office never once publicly hinted at trading Justin Jefferson. In fact, at the NFL Scouting Combine back in March, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah claimed that trading Jefferson was not a thought that had crossed his mind.
“We think he's the best wide receiver in the league and should be compensated as such,” Adofo-Mensah said at the time, per Schefter. Apparently, folks are more inclined to listen to Adam Schefter than they are the source itself.
Justin Jefferson's historic pace
No matter where you rank Justin Jefferson among the many talented wide receivers in the NFL right now, the pace he's on after his first four seasons in the league is undeniable. Consider that as things stand right now, the Vikings expensive superstar has the 4th-most receptions all-time (392) of a player in his first four NFL seasons, and the most receiving yards (5,899). And let's ignore the fact that Jefferson has only played four NFL seasons. Let's simply create a list of players who had at least 375 receptions, 5,800 yards and 30 touchdowns in any four year stretch of their career.
Jerry Rice (1992-1995) – 416 receptions, 6,051 yards, 53 touchdowns
Jerry Rice (1993-1996) – 440 receptions, 6,104 yards, 51 touchdowns
Marvin Harrison (1999-2002) – 469 receptions, 6,322 yards, 52 touchdowns
Marvin Harrison (2000-2003) – 448 receptions, 5,931 yards, 50 touchdowns
Calvin Johnson (2010-2013) – 379 receptions, 6,257 yards, 45 touchdowns
Antonio Brown (2013-2016) – 481 receptions, 6,315 yards, 43 touchdowns
Antonio Brown (2014-2017) – 472 receptions, 6,349 yards, 44 touchdowns
Antonio Brown (2015-2018) – 447 receptions, 5,948 yards, 46 touchdowns
Tyreek Hill (2020-2023) – 436 receptions, 6,024 yards, 44 touchdowns
Justin Jefferson (2020-2023) – 392 receptions, 5,899 yards, 30 touchdowns
That's it. That's the list. No Randy Moss, Torry Holt, Julio Jones, Terrell Owens, Reggie Wayne, Larry Fitzgerald, Andre Johnson, Cris Carter, Tim Brown, Steve Smith Sr., Anquan Boldin, Davante Adams or DeAndre Hopkins. Just six guys, including the richest non-quarterback in the NFL today.
So, here's the moral of the story: the Minnesota Vikings were never going to trade Justin Jefferson.
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