Justin Jefferson’s future with the Minnesota Vikings is suddenly in question. While Jefferson is just 26 and squarely in his prime, chatter around a possible move has grown louder this offseason. On top of that, Minnesota’s timeline to contend doesn’t clearly line up with Jefferson’s prime, especially with ongoing uncertainty at quarterback. However, he has repeatedly told Minnesota he’s all in. But when a young fan asked about the San Francisco 49ers, his silence was louder than any statement he’s made all year.

In a clip shared on X, Justin Jefferson can be seen hanging out with friends when a young fan asked if he’d like to join the 49ers. Jefferson didn’t say yes, but he didn’t say no either. He simply looked away, and this reaction differed from how Jefferson handled earlier links to the Buffalo Bills.

When rumors picked up about him joining the Bills, Jefferson addressed them head-on last week during an appearance on the Up & Adams Show with Kay Adams. He acknowledged hearing from Bills Mafia but made it clear that his focus remains on the Vikings, effectively shutting down talk of a move to Buffalo.

Nevertheless, last month, Tim Kawakami of The San Francisco Standard laid out what a trade for Justin Jefferson could look like for the 49ers, in theory. Back in 2024, Jefferson became the highest-paid non-QB in the history of the NFL when he signed a four-year, $140 million extension deal with the Vikings. Now, with ample draft capital and cap flexibility, Kawakami thinks that the 49ers could construct an offer for Jefferson starting with at least two first-round picks. 

Grant Cohn of Sports Illustrated later expanded on whether that trade scenario involving Jefferson has any possibility of coming true for the Niners.

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“I reached out to my source who’s close to the Minnesota Vikings,” Cohn said in a clip that he posted via X on January 22. “As you know, he told me that the Niners are interested in trading for Jordan Addison. Of course, they’re interested in trading for Justin Jefferson, too. They tried to trade for him two years ago. It’s just that the Vikings didn’t want to trade him.”

“I asked my source, ‘Hey, is there any chance the Vikings could trade Justin Jefferson?’ and my source said, ‘There’s a zero percent,’” Cohn added. “Then he replied to clarify, ‘So there’s a negative one hundred percent chance that they trade Justin Jefferson.’ So don’t get your hopes up. They’re not rebuilding.”

The Vikings struck gold when they selected Justin Jefferson at No. 22 overall in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, and teams don’t move elite receivers unless they’re fully tearing things down. But it is undeniable that quarterback instability in Minnesota has tested Jefferson’s patience and production.

After QB Kirk Cousins left Minnesota, Jefferson endured more turnover under center than most star receivers would tolerate. He still thrived in 2024 with former Vikings QB Sam Darnold, posting 1,533 yards and 10 touchdowns. But the transition to playing with rookie QB J.J. McCarthy in 2025 told a different story as Jefferson recorded just 1,048 yards and 2 touchdowns. When Jefferson spoke about McCarthy during an interview last week, his comments still sounded professional, but hardly glowing.

“That’s not my decision,” Jefferson said last week on the Up & Adams Show with Kay Adams while talking about who becomes the starting QB in Minnesota. “I don’t care who’s throwing me that ball. That’s not my main priority. That person, that’s throwing that ball, needs to throw that ball and lead us into that big dance at the end of the season. Right now, J.J. is my QB. For me, it’s to get him to where we need to go; it starts off right now.”

Interestingly, a blockbuster Jefferson trade could also be possible with Minnesota wanting to build up future assets, having a current uncertainty at the QB position. That brings us to the bigger point of whether J.J. McCarthy is truly the Vikings’ long-term answer. 

Will J.J. McCarthy remain the starting quarterback in Minnesota next season? 

J.J. McCarthy has played in just 10 of a possible 35 games in the past two seasons after being drafted by the Vikings in the 2024 NFL Draft, and his performance hasn’t inspired confidence. In the past season, he threw for 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions across those 10 games. That’s a disappointing performance, especially under a head coach known for quarterback development like Kevin O’Connell. 

So, it wasn’t surprising when ESPN’s Kevin Seifert recently suggested that McCarthy’s future in Minnesota is anything but secure.

“The best way to put this, based on what sources have said, is that all bets are off. The general manager who drafted McCarthy No. 10 in 2024 has been fired, and the coach who was in full agreement with that decision is now under considerably more scrutiny,” Seifert wrote in a recent article.

Seifert also added important context to McCarthy’s current situation. While McCarthy is just 23 years old and has only 10 NFL starts, many teams around the league wouldn’t give up on him so quickly, especially with the appeal of maximizing his rookie QB contract. Still, the recent departure of former Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah highlights how risky that approach can be with the rookie QB.

“If anything, these events increase the chances that the Vikings will take a big swing at finding a veteran quarterback who could start in 2026,” Seifert added. “The only thing more damaging than making the mistakes the Vikings made last season would be to repeat them this year.”

The Vikings still have J.J. McCarthy on an affordable rookie deal for at least two more years, with a potential extension looming in 2028 if he pans out. So, Seifert didn’t explicitly say the Vikings would trade McCarthy, but he strongly implied competition, if not change, is coming. Kevin O’Connell echoed that sentiment at his end-of-season press conference.

“I think there has to be [competition],” O’Connell said. “I think that’s what’s going to make everybody better in that room. It’s going to be what makes our entire offense thrive through that competition.”

Moreover, J.J. McCarthy’s injuries, accuracy issues, and a 57.6% completion rate in the past season with a 72.6 passer rating only added to the need for a better QB in Minnesota. With no clear path to QB1 in 2026, McCarthy’s future with the Vikings remains cloudy.