The quarterback had a difficult first year in the NFL and the wide receiver suffered it
EAGAN, Minn. — The receiver of the Minnesota Vikings, Justin Jefferson, declared Thursday that he would “love” for J.J. McCarthy to continue as the team’s quarterback next season, despite an inconsistent year that turned out to be the least productive of Jefferson’s career and left the team out of the playoffs.
“That’s not my decision,” Jefferson said, referring to roster decisions. “[Pero] Of course I would love for him to be here. Of course I would love for him to be the quarterback. Especially after this year. I feel like he needs to prove to everyone that he’s a top-notch quarterback. So I would love to have it. “I would love to work with him and show everyone that he is number one.”
Justin Jefferson He added that he wanted to work with J.J. McCarthy during the preseason to eliminate “those habits that he had and that, according to us, harmed him during the season, working on those small details of his game.”
Jefferson needs 53 passing yards on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers to reach 1,000 yards for the season, despite having played in all 16 games of the Vikings this season and having participated in 95% of the offensive plays. He has never finished a season with fewer than 1,000 receiving yards, not even when he missed seven games in 2023 due to a hamstring injury. However, Jefferson has finished with fewer than 50 passing yards in seven of the team’s last nine games. Vikingsall of them with McCarthy or the rookie Max Brosmer as starters, and his only 100+ yard games in 2025 came in Weeks 4 and 5 with veteran backup Carson Wentz.
“I had to learn to be patient, to not show emotion, to lead as the captain of this team,” Jefferson said. “And there are definitely things I can learn from this year for the future. But I would say that from now on, we have to demand more of each other. After this type of season, we don’t want to have one like that again.”
McCarthy participated fully in Thursday’s practice, a good sign that he was on track to start Sunday after missing the Vikings’ 23-10 Week 17 win against the Detroit Lions due to a crack in his right hand.
