Justin Jefferson doesn't care about your fantasy team: 'My health is wayyyy more important'
The old adage "no one cares about your fantasy team" isn't always true (especially not at Yahoo Sports), but it is true for one man: Justin Jefferson.
Jefferson, wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings, has missed the last five games with a hamstring injury. Fantasy football players around the globe have desperately wanted him back, especially since we're approaching Week 12 and the playoffs are just around the corner.
Jefferson has heard their cries. And he does not care.
My health is wayyyy more important than you winning your fantasy games. It doesn’t matter how many times y’all flood my dms talking about me selling your team. I DONT CARE😂
— JJETS✈️ (@JJettas2) November 21, 2023
Despite already missing the four games required of players on injured reserve, Jefferson is questionable for Monday night's game against the Chicago Bears. Head coach Kevin O'Connell has said that the Vikings want to be "smart" about getting Jefferson back on the field and has shown no desire to let his 24-year-old star receiver play if he's less than 100% — especially with a Week 13 bye coming up.
Jefferson appears to be completely on board with this strategy. When the team announced that he wouldn't play against the Denver Broncos in Week 11, Jefferson didn't hesitate to take complete ownership of the decision. He's the one in charge of his own health, and only he can know if he's ready to go.
"I'm the main person that's going to make the decision at the end of the day. I'm the person that's going out there running. I'm the person that's going out there and putting my body on the line to win games and do things for this organization. I know how I feel, I know how my hamstring is feeling," Jefferson said. "Of course we're going to weigh in on all the different opinions and what everyone has to say, but at the end of the day I'm the one that's going out there and putting my body on the line."
Jefferson's decision to preserve his health may frustrate fantasy players, but the team that pays his salary is more than fine with it. And they've done pretty well without him. Sunday's game against the Broncos marked the sixth week he's been out, and in that time the Vikings managed to go 5-1 while losing their starting quarterback (Kirk Cousins), backup quarterback (Jaren Hall), and then trading for a new fill-in QB (Joshua Dobbs) who has played like a starter.
The only one who can protect Jefferson is himself — which is why he may want to consider closing his DMs to the general public. There's just no way those messages are going to stop on their own.
