The following questions are about current Minnesota Vikings topics, answered by VikingsTerritory. Today is the April 29th edition, addressed in a from-the-hip fashion. If you have questions, please email them to (email protected).
Questions Answered: Justin Jefferson Extension, Favorite Pick of the Draft, the Kicker
Also, please note: These are opinion-based responses. Some answers will be incorrect from time to time. But we’ll try to keep that to a minimum.
Q: When will this Justin Jefferson extension be done?
Answer: Probably within the next two weeks.
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said after the draft about Jefferson’s upcoming extension: “You know that friend that has a birthday that takes the month? I think Justin would deserve his whole month if we signed a contract to celebrate it. We’re excited to work towards it. We’re going to keep going. You can’t have all these plans when you talk about all these visions and not talk about the king linchpin, so we’re going to keep working toward that end goal.”
Those comments make a deal sound rather imminent, and we wouldn’t be surprised if the extension is announced in mere days.
It’s coming — the Vikings were never going to let Jefferson leave. Any talks of trading him were designed for unnecessary panic.
Q: What was your favorite pick of the draft for the Vikings?
Answer: J.J. McCarthy.
That’s probably the vanilla answer, but we’d be lying if we picked someone else. It was marvelous that Dallas Turner fell into Minnesota’s lap later in the 1st-Round, but McCarthy was somehow more affordable than Turner.
Once and for all, McCarthy has a chance to become the Vikings’ first organically selected franchise quarterback since Tommy Kramer, and answering this question any other way would be foolish.
It’s McCarthy by a mile, but the organization deserves a tip of the cap for also grabbing Turner.
Q: Is Will Reichard guaranteed to win the kicking job over John Parker Romo?
A: Yes, pretty much.
Nobody anywhere had heard of Romo until he signed with Minnesota, and all college football fans knew about Reichard. If Romo wins the summer kicking competition, it will make the Vikings’ selection of Reichard look rather dumb and be embarrassing for Reichard, who was considered the top kicker in the draft.
This one is basically a guarantee — Reichard will be Minnesota’s kicker in 2024 unless a bizarre injury transpires. Romo may not even make it to the preseason games.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His MIN obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.