Justin Jefferson Injury Update

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Justin Jefferson returned from his ankle sprain in the Oct. 11 win at New Orleans and caught six of seven targets for 79 yards and a touchdown, per CBS Sports. Coach Kevin O’Connell said the team worked him out before the game “and he was ready.” Minnesota used its Week 6 bye for extra rest and hosted Indianapolis on Oct. 25. The same ankle resurfaced as a limited Wednesday practice tag ahead of that Indianapolis game; our tracked feed cleared the tag by Friday’s report, and Jefferson carries no designation into Monday night’s Week 9 game at Buffalo.

He hurt the ankle in the third quarter of the Sept. 27 win over Tampa Bay, and a Sept. 28 evaluation found it avoided long-term damage, per coach Kevin O’Connell. He then missed every practice and sat out the Week 4 game against Miami.

Fantasy Action: Jefferson carries no designation heading into Monday night’s Week 9 game at Buffalo — the ankle tag from Minnesota’s Week 8 practice report cleared by Friday. Start him with normal confidence, with an eye on any late change before kickoff.

Injury timeline — 2026

2026	No injury designations before Week 3 in the reports we checked.
Sept 27	Left the Week 3 win over Tampa Bay in the third quarter with an ankle injury; did not return (ESPN).
Sept 28	Undergoes further evaluation and testing Monday to determine severity (ESPN’s Kevin Seifert).
Sept 28	Evaluation shows the ankle sprain avoided long-term damage; Vikings are “very encouraged” for Week 4 (head coach Kevin O’Connell).
Sept 29	Trending toward playing Week 4 at home against Miami; Minnesota’s first practice report of the week is due Wednesday.
Sept 30	Listed as a non-participant on Wednesday’s estimated practice report, still day-to-day (NBC Sports, Fox9).
Oct 2	Ruled out for Sunday against Miami after missing every practice this week (RotoWire).
Oct 6	ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports the Vikings are “hopeful” for a Week 5 return; O’Connell cites “great progress.”
Oct 11	Returns from the ankle sprain and catches six of seven targets for 79 yards and a touchdown in a 23-13 win at New Orleans (CBS Sports).
Oct 21	Added to Minnesota’s Wednesday Week 7 report Questionable with the same ankle, per our tracked injury feed; no practice report confirmed yet.
Nov 4	Limited Wednesday practice with the same ankle ahead of Minnesota’s Week 8 game at Indianapolis; tag cleared by Friday’s report.

Earlier seasons

Season	Injury	Games missed
2023	Hamstring (IR Oct. 11 to Nov. 28)	7

Played all 17 games with 84 catches for 1,048 yards and 2 TD, extending his streak of 1,000-yard seasons to six, per Wikipedia.

Sources

• Vikings Week 3 injury report
• Wikipedia: Justin Jefferson
• CBS Sports: Murray clears protocol
• Ourlads Vikings depth chart
• CBS Sports: Vikings 23, Saints 13 recap (Oct. 11)

Justin Jefferson news

Frequently asked about Justin Jefferson

Is Justin Jefferson injured?

No designation heading into Monday night’s Week 9 game at Buffalo — a Week 8 ankle tag on Minnesota’s practice report cleared by Friday. He missed a game earlier this season with the same ankle, then played on Oct. 11 at New Orleans (6 catches, 79 yards, 1 TD) following a bye week. Check the live injury report for his current status.

Has Justin Jefferson missed games with injuries before?

Yes. A 2023 hamstring injury landed him on IR and cost him seven games.