Justin Jefferson hopes to play Sunday vs. Saints, fired up by Beckham addition

If Justin Jefferson gets his wish, he'll be playing this Sunday when the Vikings take on the Saints at the Superdome in New Orleans, which sits about 30 minutes away from his hometown of St. Rose, Louisiana.

Jefferson exited the Vikings' Week 3 game in Tampa with a sprained ankle, then sat out this past weekend's win over the Dolphins in Minneapolis. He was able to practice in a limited capacity on Wednesday, which is a good sign for his chances of playing this week.

It'll all depend on how his ankle feels over the course of the next few days, but Jefferson said he feels "real good" and is planning on playing this week if everything checks out.

"Hopefully so," he said. "That's definitely the plan. Being back at home in Louisiana is definitely something that I want to do. The plan is for me to play, but who knows?"

"Just taking it day by day," he added. "Ankles are a little bit tricky, so you just gotta continue to stay in the treatment room and making sure that it feels the best that it feels every single day. Coming into this building every day at least feeling a little better than it did before. Getting out there today definitely felt good."

The Vikings have a bye week after this game. They're 4-0. Those are a couple theoretical reasons to lean towards sitting Jefferson against the Saints if he's anything less than 100 percent.

At the same time, he's their superstar and the face of their franchise. His happiness matters. Jefferson desperately wants to play in front of a packed Superdome for the first time in his career. The only previous time he's played in New Orleans came during his rookie season in 2020, when a very limited number of fans were allowed because of the pandemic. In 2022, the Vikings' road game against the Saints was played in London.

"I've definitely been fiending for it, for sure," Jefferson said. "It's definitely been a long time coming. Being back at home with my friends and family being able to watch. LSU fans, the fans that have been watching me for a long period of time. Definitely got a lot of people tuned in to that game, and hopefully I'll play and be able to give them a show."

Jefferson confirmed that he was injured on his second catch of the Vikings' first drive against the Buccaneers, a screen pass in which "four or five" players tackled him, including 350-pound defensive tackle Vita Vea.

"Felt a little tweak," Jefferson said. "Tried to come into the game, tape it up, but I felt a little bit of weakness. Went to the back and looked at the X-rays, it was all good. It was just all about making it feel better, getting the soreness out, the swelling out after the game. But it feels good now, and hopefully Sunday, being able to rock and roll."

Jefferson understands that the bye week is coming up. He also hates missing football games, whenever they are.

"I want to be out there," he said. "That's the main thing. I hate missing games. I hated missing last week; I wanted to be out there last week. Especially at home. I never want to miss any time. It's been a little tough, they've been holding me back a little bit, just not trying to force anything."

Wednesday's news that the Vikings are signing free agent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. to their practice squad was exciting to a lot of people, including Kevin O'Connell — but Jefferson is probably at the top of that list.

Beckham and Jefferson have been close for a long time. Beckham overlapped with both of Jefferson's older brothers, Jordan and Rickey, during his time at LSU from 2011-13. Justin, of course, went on to star at LSU in 2018 and '19 before emerging as an NFL superstar and breaking a number of Beckham's early-career records.

"It's definitely cool," Jefferson said. "All of the years that I've watched him play and looked up to his game his play style, on and off the field, how he carried himself as a superstar in the league. We've been brothers for a very long time. The connection has always been there. We've always talked about this moment, one day being able to play with each other. For it to actually be here is definitely crazy. He called me last night to tell me he was coming down. The excitement that we shared together, it was definitely a cool moment."

Jefferson said he's taken a lot of inspiration from watching Beckham play. Beckham joked that he picked jersey No. 9 with the Vikings because "Justin got half his game from me." The two had an older brother-younger brother relationship for a long time that has developed into a friendship as peers over time.

"I've always been a fan of his game," Jefferson said. "He always treated me like a little brother, ever since he was at LSU. Obviously him being in the league and seeing what I was doing at LSU kind of sparked the relationship even more. I modeled my game after him in certain areas — the way he runs his routes, the wiggle at the top of his routes. There's bits and pieces that I took from his game. … To see him out there (at practice) today was a cool moment."

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This story was originally published by Bring Me The Sports on Oct 7, 2026, where it first appeared in the MN Vikings section. Add Bring Me The Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.