EAGAN, Minn. — Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson has a love-hate relationship with taking a "vet day."
"I like it and I hate it at the same time because I never really was the type of person to take days off," Jefferson said Friday after training camp practice at Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center.
Jefferson didn't participate in Wednesday's session (the team did not practice Thursday). He understands the reasoning, though. The 2022 NFL Offensive Player of the Year was bothered by a hamstring injury last season.
The Vikings – and Jefferson – want him to be optimized on the field, where he's arguably the top player at his position and rewritten numerous NFL wide receiver records in a player's first four seasons.
In 2023, Jefferson missed seven games because of a hamstring injury suffered in Week 5 against Kansas City. Still, he recorded a career-best 107.4 yards per game, notching his fourth straight 1,000-yard campaign.
A "vet day" – Jets prefers calling it a rest day – every once in a while could be helpful in the long run.
"Justin plays a lot of snaps for us, and we want to make sure his training camp progression is the right kind of progression," Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell said earlier on Friday, clarifying there's not really a maintenance plan so much as there is a method to resting. "It's more a matter of the dialogue that he has with [Vice President of Player Health and Performance] Tyler [Williams] and myself and making sure that our plan for him as we progress forward through the month of August has him in his prime, optimal, physical football shape, ready to roll while also still tactically getting him prepared."
Variables such as the distance covered, intensity level – i.e. how hard he's running – and even things beyond football movements, like the weight lost at the end of each practice, as well as hot weather, all determine whether Jefferson is due for a rest day. It's OK to take a little step back if it means a step forward later.
"There's a lot of science that goes behind it. I'm just here to play football and do what I'm told," Jets said.
It's kind of a balancing act. On one hand, Jefferson is trying to get game-ready. On the other, give his body a break. He's adjusting to turning his go-go-go switch on and off. Play fast. Play hard. And rest.
"Justin is a mature player," said O'Connell. "It's that kind of pro's pro mentality."
O'Connell highlighted the importance of controlling risk-factors and determining how far to push Jefferson, while keeping in mind the fatigue that happens in training camp, without crossing the line.
It's not lost on Jefferson that he's getting older. The amount of running he does can take a toll, he said.
That's why he's implementing new strategies – a rest day, for instance – to become "injury-proof."
"I'm so scared for it to happen again. I've been overly cautious about it," Jefferson said. "I'll get to the point where I'm not going to think of it because I'm going to push it to where it's way stronger."
One other thing to be aware of: Jefferson gets a dose of what he'll see in the regular season, in terms of complex coverages, every single day at Vikings practice. It's Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores' M.O.
So, a rest day doesn't put Jefferson behind the curve. In fact, facing Flores for any number of reps may put him in front. O'Connell feels strongly about Flores testing Jets and the Vikings offense in practice.
"It makes no sense in a lot of ways to allow Justin to just see base coverage structures," O'Connell said. "Although that's great for the fans in attendance because they can see him catch a hundred balls in a day, that's just not realistic. … He's a guy that needs to see a lot of football throughout training camp just because of how unique he's defended when it comes to 17 games over the course of the season."
The occasional "vet day" should benefit the Vikings superstar.
