Minnesota Vikings star wide receiver Justin Jefferson was blunt and honest when discussing Minnesota’s 2025 campaign. The Vikings sit at the bottom of the NFC North with a 4-8 record, and though they’re not yet eliminated from playoff contention, they might as well be.
Offense, especially, has been a struggle for the Vikings this season as they shifted from Sam Darnold to second-year signal-caller J.J. McCarthy at the quarterback position. McCarthy has missed several games with injury issues, forcing the Vikings to rely on backup QBs, and when McCarthy has been available, he hasn’t been great.
Justin Jefferson calls 2025 'one of the most difficult seasons'
Without consistent play at quarterback, Jefferson’s individual stats have taken a hit. He’s averaging career lows in receptions (5.2) and yards (66.6) per game. He also only has two touchdowns receptions, which means fans have been robbed of seeing his signature celebrations more frequently.
"Obviously it's a difficult season,” Jefferson said. “It's probably one of the most difficult seasons just off of the circumstances, having a young quarterback, having a different team, having young players on the team. So it's just one of those years. Not every year is going to be a top-tier year for me. It's really a part of the game, so it's just all on me to expect a lot from these guys and to improve on anything that we need to improve on as an offense."
Despite his obvious – and understandable – frustrations, Jefferson preached patience as he envisions better times ahead for fans in Minnesota.
"You have to have a lot of patience," Jefferson said. "I mean, we're 4-8. That's definitely a difficult thing to go through. It's definitely not exciting to lose games, and especially in front of our fans at home. … So of course I hate being in this situation and losing these games, but there're going to be better times and there's going to be a time where people cut on that TV and they're talking all about us and they jumped on our bandwagon."
Seeing some of his peers put up monster numbers across the league has to be difficult for Jefferson, but he’s handled the situation very well. There has been no whining or throwing teammates under the bus. As of yet there’s been no trade request, either. There has been some speculation, but no request.
Could that change in the future? It’s possible if improvements aren’t made, but you have to think that the Vikings will try to address the QB position over the offseason, because McCarthy hasn’t necessarily looked like the long-term solution. Keeping Jefferson happy should be a priority for the Vikings, and they clearly fell short in that regard this season.