Last summer, I said that, if the Vikings don’t sign him to a long-term deal before the start of the 2023 regular season, he’ll potentially be in play for a trade that would position the Vikings to draft a player who could become their first franchise quarterback since Fran Tarkenton.
Two days until the draft, a Jefferson trade remains possible — because the Vikings still haven’t signed Jefferson to a new deal.
As explained over the weekend and on Tuesday’s PFT Live, it would be easy (but not cheap) to sign Jefferson to a long-term deal. G.M. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has already said Jefferson should be paid like a top non-quarterback. That’s currently $34 million per year in new money.
Seriously, it could be done in a matter of hours. The numbers are the numbers. Extend by three years, guarantee the first three, put the new-money average at $34.1 million, and get out the pens.
With no deal done and the Vikings clearly looking to move up and get their long-term quarterback, why not offer Jefferson? The Vikings clearly don’t value him the way they should, or he’d be under contract well beyond 2024.
Here’s the question. Would Jefferson for the second overall pick (which would become Jayden Daniels), straight up, be enough? Would the Commanders want more?
They’d surely want the eleventh overall pick in order to get their own quarterback. Would Jefferson plus the eleventh overall pick in exchange for the second overall pick and the thirty-sixth overall pick get it done? How about the second overall pick and receiver Terry McLaurin?
It all comes down to whether the Commanders would want Jefferson — and whether they would be willing to pay him. They also would need to have a solid answer at quarterback. (If all else fails, they could call Tom Brady, who clearly wants the phone to ring.)
A trade obviously hinges on whether the Vikings would be willing to trade Jefferson. Again, they apparently aren’t willing to pay him; why not trade him?
The Vikings have had plenty of great receivers since their last Super Bowl appearance, in 1976. Ahmad Rashad. Anthony Carter. Cris Carter. Randy Moss. Jake Reed. Percy Harvin. Adam Thielen. Stefon Diggs. None have gotten the Vikings to the Super Bowl. Tarkenton got them to three.
If getting a quarterback who could transform the franchise requires trading Jefferson, it’s worth considering. Especially if the Vikings are reluctant to pay Jefferson what he deserves.