Justin Jefferson underwent testing Monday after an ankle injury forced the Minnesota Vikings star out of Sunday’s 23-16 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Vikings wideout injured his ankle in the first quarter when a defender fell onto it following a 10-yard screen reception. Jefferson walked off under his own power and went into the medical tent before returning to the sideline, but the Vikings eventually ruled him out.
Minnesota entered Monday hoping an MRI would confirm Jefferson had avoided a significant injury, and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport shared an update after the testing results became available.
“Good news on #Vikings WR Justin Jefferson,” Rapoport reported. “He has an ankle sprain and the imaging was good today. He avoided anything long term and there is a chance he plays Sunday.”
O’Connell sounded encouraged after Minnesota improved to 3-0, revealing Jefferson came close to re-entering the game.
“I just know that he was pretty close to coming back in, he just couldn’t get there,” O’Connell said Sunday. “He’s such an explosive player, and the way he gets defended, he needs to have those things, getting off the line, press, all those things. He just couldn’t quite get there. I know he was trying like crazy and it was killing him not to get back out there.”
Jefferson finished with two catches for 32 yards. Through three games, Jefferson has 13 receptions on 17 targets for 179 yards and two touchdowns.
Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
Minnesota managed to deal with Tampa Bay without Jefferson for most of the game, beating the Bucs behind a strong defense and special teams.
Starting quarterback Kyler Murray completed 15 of 29 passes for 168 yards, one touchdown and one interception, while Jordan Addison caught five passes for 90 yards and a score.
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The 3-0 Vikings return home to face the Miami Dolphins next Sunday at 4:05 p.m. ET.
