He was a long shot to begin with, but you can cross Minnesota Vikings All-Pro wide receiver Justin Jefferson off the list of potential wide receiver trade targets for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Jefferson will be a Viking for the “foreseeable future,” according to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated,
“I believe Jefferson will be on the Minnesota Vikings’ roster for the foreseeable future,” Breer wrote in a mailbag column. “Trading Jefferson would make the whole thing pretty wobbly for a young quarterback.”
Jefferson set a new NFL record for the most receiving yards by an NFL player in their first four seasons. He now has 5,899 career receiving yards, surpassing the old mark of 5,512 set by Michael Thomas of New Orleans. Jefferson also has 30 career touchdowns and has recorded at least 68 receptions in all four seasons.
With those type of numbers, Jefferson is definitely due for a hefty payday.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported in March that Jefferson turned down a deal last offseason that would have paid him “in excess of $30 million per year.” Jefferson himself has stated he wants to “break the bank” with his next deal.
“It’s going to be a challenge to get a deal done, but one I think the Vikings dive headlong into after the draft, with the goal of making sure Jefferson is on the roster for a long time to come,” Breer continued.
Breer expects the price tag for Jefferson will be in the same ballpark as what the Vikings offered last year, but thinks a shakeup with the wide receiver market is bound to happen.
“It’s sky high, for sure, and more than $30 million per year. ” … Over the past two years, since the explosion of deals in 2022 (Davante Adams, Tyreek Hill, A.J. Brown, etc.), the receiver market hasn’t moved much, meaning there’s a correction coming, especially given what we’ve seen happen with defensive lineman.”
With the Steelers hosting six wide receiver prospects on pre-draft visits, the buzz around the Steelers trading for a receiver has died off a bit but according to one NFL insider, the team is still trying their hand at landing one via trade.
“For me, there’s a piece of information we don’t have yet, which is do they trade for a wide receiver before the draft,” NFL Insider Jason La Canfora said on the In The Huddle podcast. “It would not surprise me if they did that tomorrow, if they did it the Wednesday before the draft. If they did it while they were on the clock, if they did it in the run up to the draft that Thursday, I know that they’re really trying to make something happen there.”