The Indianapolis Colts were among a few teams who reportedly reached out to the Minnesota Vikings earlier this offseason about potentially trading for star wide receiver Justin Jefferson, according to Adam Schefter on his podcast.
Along with the Colts, the New York Jets and the San Francisco 49ers were the other teams to reach out, but all conversations were quickly shut down by Minnesota.
“Every team that called the Vikings before the draft was told we’re not trading him,” Schefter said. “The conversations went nowhere with anybody.”
Jefferson, of course, just signed a four-year $140 million extension on Monday, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL.
In four seasons with the Vikings, Jefferson is a three-time Pro Bowler, a one-time All-Pro, and the 2022 Offensive Player of the Year. In 2020, his rookie year, he totaled 1,400 receiving yards, followed by 1,616 in 2021 and a league-high 1,809 in 2022.
Even after only appearing in 10 games last season due to injury, Jefferson would still eclipse the 1,000-yard mark. He’s gone on to average 15.0 yards per catch in his career with 30 touchdowns.
It’s easy to see why the Colts would have had an interest in Jefferson. In picking up the phone, GM Chris Ballard could have been going for an AJ Brown-like addition for Anthony Richardson, similar to the trade the Eagles made by putting a top wide receiver around their then-young quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Adding more playmaking around Richardson was at the top of the Colts’ to-do list this offseason, and they hope they were able to accomplish that by landing AD Mitchell in the second-round of the NFL Draft.
With the Vikings ending conversations right away, we don’t know if this call was Ballard doing his due diligence or if he was ready to talk price. Although it’s all a moot point now.
“He’s a good player,” said Shane Steichen on Tuesday. “There’s probably 31 other teams that tried to trade for Justin Jefferson. But I’ve got no comment on that.”
