Jefferson ruled out vs. Buccaneers with ankle injury — SkimNews
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Justin Jefferson was ruled out of the Vikings' 23-16 win over Tampa Bay with a left ankle injury suffered on a 10-yard screen pass, the final play of Minnesota's opening drive.
- Jefferson had caught a 22-yard pass earlier on that drive, spent time in the medical tent, watched from the sideline in the second quarter, and was not seen again after heading to the locker room.
- Jordan Addison stepped up as Minnesota's lead receiver with five catches for 90 yards, including a 41-yard touchdown from Kyler Murray that gave the Vikings a 17-10 lead with 4:11 left in the second quarter.
- Jauan Jennings and Tai Felton were the Vikings' other receivers in three-receiver sets but combined for just one reception, exposing thin depth behind Addison.
- Jefferson's 179 receiving yards through three weeks is the fewest of his career at this stage, continuing a 2025 season in which he managed just 1,048 yards in 17 games — his worst year — while Minnesota rotated through J.J. McCarthy and rookie Max Brosmer.
- Kyler Murray, acquired to replace McCarthy, had fueled Jefferson's eight-catch, 92-yard, two-touchdown Week 1 line, but Week 2 yielded just three catches for 55 yards in a rain-soaked loss at Chicago.
Why it matters: The injury lands on a star already producing at career-low levels (179 yards through three weeks, the worst start of his career), and the depth chart behind Addison produced just one combined catch from Jennings and Felton. With Murray brought in specifically to revive Jefferson's production and Minnesota having already cycled through two quarterbacks in 2025, an extended absence compounds both an immediate playmaking gap and a longer-term question about whether Murray can still unlock the receiver.
Ask SkimNews
