As if things weren’t already trending in the wrong direction for the Minnesota Vikings this season after suffering their fourth loss of the season on Sunday, the franchise must now move forward without arguably their best player.
Superstar wide receiver Justin Jefferson is dealing with a hamstring injury that was severe enough for the team to put him on injured reserve, meaning he’ll miss a minimum of four games, starting with Week 6 against the division-rival Chicago Bears.
This is obviously a costly blow for the Vikings, especially with the team unable to get any momentum this season and trailing in the NFC North division standings to the Detroit Lions (4-1), whom they will almost certainly not catch this year.
With Jefferson set to miss at least a month, the Vikings coaching staff will turn to rookie wide receiver Jordan Addison to help shoulder the load in the passing game.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell recently talked about what he expects from the rookie wideout now that Jefferson is out, via Andrew Krammer of the Star Tribune.
Kevin O’Connell on Jordan Addison:
“He was one of my favorite players I evaluated in the draft. … Since then it’s been positive after positive outside of driving a little fast one time. My expectation is we hit the gas with Jordan this weekend. No pun intended.”
— Andrew Krammer (@Andrew_Krammer) October 11, 2023
Fortunately for Minnesota, the team will go on the road to face the Bears, who have found it just as difficult to find success this season, with the team sporting an identical 1-4 record heading into Week 6.
However, the Bears will be riding high after their first win of the season against the Washington Commanders, in which they put up a season-high 40 points and finally saw quarterback Justin Fields come into his own and show flashes of what he was able to do last season.
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