The Minnesota Vikings continue to move toward 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy starting at quarterback in 2025. Part of the Vikings’ faith in McCarthy, who missed his rookie season with a torn meniscus, is his supporting cast, including Justin Jefferson.
Jefferson, a four-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro, is an avid gamer and hosts live streams of his sessions on popular social media platform Twitch.
He fittingly responded to a light-hearted recruiting attempt during a recent stream.
“Hey, chat. I can get Justin to come to the Bengals, ya’ll,” Cincinnati star Ja’Marr Chase – Jefferson’s college teammate – said during their joint Twitch live stream on March 30, drawing the relieving response from the Vikings star.
“Ya can’t,” Jefferson said without changing expressions. “They just gave Uno [Chase] the keys to the crib. I can’t have the keys to the crib too.”
The Bengals signed Chase to a four-year, $161 million contract this offseason.
That bests the four-year, $140 million pact Jefferson signed in 2024 that made him the highest-paid offensive skill player at the time in terms of total value. Jefferson still holds that title in terms of total guaranteed money, with $88.7 million to $73.9 million for Chase.
Jefferson’s production and age should allow him to re-up for another sizeable payday before the Vikings star turns 30 years old.
Justin Jefferson Throws TD Pass With Virtual J.J. McCarthy, Vikings in ‘Madden 25’
Getty| J.J. McCarthy #9 of the Minnesota Vikings warms up before facing the Las Vegas Raiders.
During that same stream, a fan asked Jefferson to replace former Vikings QB Sam Darnold with McCarthy in “Madden 25.”
Jefferson did just that, and on the very first play from scrimmage with his apparent new starting quarterback, threw a 75-yard touchdown to the virtual version of fellow Vikings wideout, Jalen Nailor.
Jefferson’s reaction could offer a glimpse of what is to come next season.
The footage – and Jefferson’s reaction – were quite similar to what McCarthy actually did during his lone game action in 2024, a preseason tilt against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Then, it was a 45-yarder to Trishton Jackson for paydirt, and Jefferson offered a similar reaction. Unfortunately for Jefferson and McCarthy, they did not even get to build chemistry in practice with the Vikings QB shelved due to his knee injury.
J.J. McCarthy’s Time as Vikings QB1 Coming
Getty| J.J. McCarthy #9 of the Minnesota Vikings gestures to the sideline against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Jefferson’s comfort with McCarthy in real life is paramount, with the Vikings showing no signs of wanting to delay the rookie any more than he proves is necessary during the OTAs, minicamps, and training camp.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell spoke to that during the annual NFL owners meeting in Palm Beach, Florida.
The Vikings held talks with Aaron Rodgers. They have also been linked to Joe Flacco and Ryan Tannehill, the latter of whom shares representation with McCarthy. The Vikings have yet to act on any of those connections.
OTAs begin in May. That will be McCarthy’s first opportunity to prove himself.
However, it is important to remember that he had given the coaching staff reason to believe he could challenge Darnold at some point last season before suffering his injury.
This time around, McCarthy appears unimpeded to the QB1 spot so long as he can keep it.
