Kevin O'Connell isn't ruling out a possible Week 5 return for Justin Jefferson

The Vikings were able to hold off the Dolphins and improve to 4-0 on Sunday without their best player, wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who did not play because of a sprained ankle.

Looking at the schedule, the Vikings have a bye in Week 6, which means they could potentially give Jefferson almost a full month off by resting him for next week’s game against the Saints in New Orleans. But they’re not thinking about it that way. Speaking after the game, head coach Kevin O’Connell left the door open for Jefferson to return next Sunday if he can get to where he needs to be with his ankle throughout this week.

“I know he made great progress last week,” O’Connell said. “We’re gonna allow that to be a medical thing, from a standpoint of if he’s able to start getting some limited work in. We’ll see how he does throughout the week. I don’t have any real projection on whether we’ll have him or not. And I think it’s important to go into the week open-minded.”

Jefferson, it should be noted, is undoubtedly going to be pushing to play. The Vikings are headed to his home state of Louisiana, where he’s never played an NFL game in front of a full house. The Vikings played in New Orleans in Jefferson’s rookie season, with just a few thousands fans allowed in due to the pandemic. Their road game against New Orleans in 2022 was played in London.

But much like the Vikings aren’t definitely going to rest him because of the Week 6 bye, they also aren’t going to play him in his home state if his ankle isn’t healthy. It’ll all come down to how he looks and feels throughout the upcoming week, with practices Wednesday through Friday like always.

“He’s so impactful, so important for us,” O’Connell said. “But at the same time, we want to get him back to 100 percent.”

Without Jefferson, the Vikings’ offense continued to struggle and look out of sync for much of Sunday’s game against the Dolphins. But they eventually got going and finished with a season-high 336 yards. T.J. Hockenson stepped up with 13 catches for 119 yards, while Jordan Addison added four catches for 52. Kyler Murray completed 13 of his final 14 passes after having a tough time with Miami’s pressure in the first half.

O’Connell and Murray feel like the Vikings are close to becoming who they believe they can be on offense. Getting Jefferson back next week would help in that regard, but it’ll only happen if he’s medically cleared and able to be his usual explosive self.

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This story was originally published by Bring Me The Sports on Oct 5, 2026, where it first appeared in the MN Vikings section. Add Bring Me The Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.