Last week, Justin Jefferson made it pretty clear how much he wants Kirk Cousins to return as his quarterback next season, even going as far as to say he would put in a good word for Kirk this offseason, when his QB1 and the Minnesota Vikings are negotiating a possible contract for 2024 and beyond.
Justin Jefferson backs off on his role in Kirk Cousins contract talks
On Wednesday, however, his attitude seemed to change a bit when asked to follow up on his comments from last week.
Justin Jefferson had a much different tone today, when asked about how much pull he has in the front office regarding the future of Kirk Cousins. #Vikings pic.twitter.com/ayKPFMiKCi
— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) January 3, 2024
Reporter: “With the uncertainty over who will be your quarterback next year with Kirk not being under contract, how do you view that and do you think you’ll have any kind of input with Kwesi in the front office?”
JJ: “I don’t really view it in no type of way. Just like I said before, it’s not really in my control. All I can control is my play and what I do out there on the field. I’m confident and they’re going to make the right decision up there to, you know, bring whoever they need to bring in in the building to throw us the ball next year.
If it’s Kirk, perfect, you know, if it’s whoever they choose, that’s not my decision. So I’m always going to continue to just be myself regardless and just, you know, playing my best ball whenever I’m out there on the field.”
Related: Vikings Going Back to Nick Mullens at Quarterback
JJ no longer interested in playing Minnesota Vikings GM
It’s possible someone inside the Vikings organization had a little talking to with JJ, after his recent (very public) displays of affection for Kirk Cousins the past couple of weeks. Either that, or JJ has had a come to Jesus moment on only controlling what he can control.
Now, whether or not one of those controllable things is Kirk Cousins’ future with the Vikings, is yet to be determined. If the Wilfs value Justin and his success as much as he probably hopes they do, then you’d have to think they would make Kirk Cousins a priority the next few months.
Not just because he is their best option to win games in the immediate future, but also because he is the best way to keep Justin Jefferson happy until they find their next quarterback, which we do not know if that will happen this offseason or not.
Read More: Justin Jefferson Facts, Stats and Much More