Justin Jefferson was selected in nearly every fantasy draft around the country in the first handful of picks. After all, the fourth-year receiver had put up huge numbers and been incredibly consistent in his first three seasons.
But, a week 5 hamstring injury landed the superstar on injured reserve, and he didn’t return until today, which is week 14. But, that was short-lived as Jefferson left today’s game with a chest injury early on and was ruled out.
Here’s the hit.
#JustinJefferson takes big hit
Injury analysis and chances to return https://t.co/faYuz41QVP pic.twitter.com/a23hxCUw0Q— David J. Chao – ProFootballDoc (@ProFootballDoc) December 10, 2023
Jefferson was taken to a local Las Vegas hospital for evaluation. As of 7:15PM ET, there were no updates on his condition. But, it would be such an unfortunate setback if he had to miss an extended period of time. He’s simply too good of a player to miss this much time.
And, for many around the country, this week was either the final week of the fantasy football regular season or the first week of the fantasy playoffs. I’m sure there were a lot of owners that pieced their team together since the Jefferson injuries and were counting down the weeks to get him back. Presumably, they had him in their lineups today in his return, but only got 2 catches for 27 yards before leaving with an injury.
Justin Jefferson has been downgraded to out against the Raiders.
Fantasy managers: pic.twitter.com/3O93gicApb
— Moody (@EricNMoody) December 10, 2023
His absence may have had something to do with one of the weirdest NFL games of the season. The Vikings won 3-0, with the only points coming on a field goal late in the 4th quarter. It threatened to be the first 0-0 game in the NFL since 1943. It wasn’t even played in bad weather, either. It’s a domed stadium in Las Vegas.
Regardless, the Vikings are 7-6, into a wild card spot if the season ended today. It’s going to be tough-sledding, as Josh Dobbs, filling in for the injured Kirk Cousins, has regressed significantly. He was even benched today for Nick Mullens.