Vikings Wednesday injury report: Full participation for Justin Jefferson
Vikings superstar wide receiver Justin Jefferson was a full participant in practice on Wednesday, marking his first full practice since before his Week 5 hamstring injury. Barring any sort of setback, he’ll make his highly-anticipated return to action on Sunday against the Raiders in Las Vegas. Jefferson, who has missed the last seven games due to his injury, will be catching passes from Josh Dobbs for the first time. Dobbs was announced by head coach Kevin O’Connell as the Vikings’ starting quarterback for this weekend. Jefferson will immediately step back
into a high-volume role as the featured target in O’Connell’s passing game, though it’ll be interesting to see how the Raiders defend him and what kind of connection he can establish with Dobbs. Also practicing in full on Wednesday was cornerback Akayleb Evans, who missed the last two games before the bye with a calf injury. He’ll be back in the starting lineup on Sunday as well, relegating rookie Mekhi Blackmon to a smaller role as the No. 3 corner behind Byron Murphy Jr. and Evans. DT Khyris Tonga (knee) was another full participant.
Two players were limited in Minnesota’s first practice of the week: KR Kene Nwangwu (concussion) and special teamer NaJee Thompson (knee). The lone DNP was safety Theo Jackson, who is dealing with an illness. Jackson plays on special teams and sometimes sees time on defense as the Vikings’ fourth safety. If he’s still sick this weekend, Lewis Cine would step into that role.
