On Monday afternoon, the Vikings were still evaluating the extent of receiver Justin Jefferson's right hamstring strain suffered in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 27-20 loss to the Chiefs. But head coach Kevin O'Connell said they were already bracing for having to "protect him from himself" in ensuring Jefferson doesn't return until he's fully healthy.
O'Connell acknowledged Jefferson would likely be getting a second opinion outside TCO Performance Center before determining a timeline to return. Jefferson's status for Sunday's game in Chicago remains unknown, but O'Connell preached caution.
"There will probably be a couple different opinions on it," O'Connell said Monday. "But we got to get the MRI of it and take a look and find out exactly what it is, where it is, if there's any other factors that go into it, and determine what the best decision is for him to get back to 100% as fast as possible."
"But he's down today," the coach added. "He obviously is one of the most ultra competitors I've ever met. Shoot, he was trying to go back into the game as it was [Sunday]. So, we're going to have to medically make a good decision and help kind of almost protect him from himself a little bit in a way where we got to take care of him and get him back to 100%."
Jefferson finished Sunday with three catches for 28 yards. Without Jefferson, rookie Jordan Addison stepped into a larger role and led the team with six catches for 64 yards and a touchdown. O'Connell thought Addison could've had more.
"I'm very confident in that group," O'Connell said. "Jordan had a huge game [Sunday]. Could've been even bigger, quite honestly. There were some [opportunities] out there and he'll continue to thrive."
Addison, 21, isn't shying away from a possibly larger role.
"This is my time, where I can step up and show everybody in the stadium that I am that guy, too," he said.