{"id":259467,"date":"2025-12-18T14:00:47","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T19:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=259467"},"modified":"2025-12-18T09:23:18","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T14:23:18","slug":"justin-jefferson-trade-vikings-j-j-mccarthy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/12\/18\/justin-jefferson-trade-vikings-j-j-mccarthy\/","title":{"rendered":"All-Pro Weapon Could Be Offseason Trade Target; 3 Destinations Emerge"},"content":{"rendered":"

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson is unhappy with his current team, and the organization could trade him in the offseason. Selected in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft<\/a>, the LSU product quickly established himself as one of the game’s elite talents. Recording at least 1,400 yards in all of his healthy seasons, the two-time First-Team All-Pro entered the 2025 season with sky-high expectations. Unfortunately, he’s having the worst season of his career as he struggles to develop a rapport with second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy.<\/p>\n

3 Teams That Could Trade For Vikings Justin Jefferson<\/h2>\n

McCarthy was awful at the beginning of the season, but is coming off two strong games. However, even with McCarthy playing well, Jefferson still isn’t seeing the ball. Over the past two weeks, the star wideout has recorded just four receptions for 33 yards and no touchdowns. Jefferson has not shied away from voicing his frustrations with the organization, and the team could get a king’s ransom in a trade. The Vikings did a similar thing with the Stefon Diggs trade<\/a> all those years ago, and history could repeat itself in the coming months.<\/p>\n

Main Photo: Raymond Carlin – Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

3. Buffalo Bills<\/h3>\n

Over five years ago, the Buffalo Bills traded for Stefon Diggs and helped transform Josh Allen into an elite quarterback. Now, Allen remains one of the game’s best but needs more help at wide receiver. Khalil Shakir is a fine role player<\/a>, but the rest of the offense desperately needs some help. If Allen plays like Superman, the Bills can win every game. However, if he’s anything less than perfect, Buffalo doesn’t have the talent to consistently win games.<\/p>\n

The Bills would have to get creative to make the money work, but a Justin Jefferson trade would give Buffalo the league’s most unstoppable offense. Seeing as the New England Patriots are now a legitimate force<\/a> in the division, Buffalo must do something to ensure it hosts at least one playoff game next year.<\/p>\n

\"Josh
Dec 14, 2025; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) passes the ball against the New England Patriots in the second half at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

2. New Orleans Saints<\/h3>\n

Drew Brees he’s not, but the New Orleans Saints may have found something in second-round pick Tyler Shough<\/a>. While it’s too early to officially name him a franchise quarterback, he’s looked the part over the past few weeks. There is no bigger competitive advantage in football than a franchise quarterback on a rookie contract, and the Saints may have stumbled into a fantastic situation.<\/p>\n

Even with Shough’s contract, the Saints don’t appear to have the financial resources to pull off a Justin Jefferson trade. However, that has never stopped Mickey Loomis in the past. The Saints General Manager is the master at creating cap space out of nothing and has never had an issue with mortgaging the future for a more exciting present. Additionally, Loomis has always prioritized top-end talent over roster depth, so perhaps he goes for a big splash in the upcoming offseason.<\/p>\n

\"Chasing
Nov 2, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough (6) hands off to running back Alvin Kamara (41) during the second half against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

1. New England Patriots<\/h3>\n

Far and away the most likely spot on this list is the New England Patriots. Following a promising rookie season, the UNC product is in the thick of the MVP race<\/a> despite having unremarkable options in the passing game. If he can lead the league in EPA\/dropback with Kayshon Boutte and an older Stefon Diggs, imagine what he could do after a Justin Jefferson trade.<\/p>\n

The Patriots have the resources to make a big move like this. They’re currently projected to have over $49.2 million in cap space<\/a> next year and they have 11 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft. The Patriots Super Bowl window is wide open, and it’s time for them to go all-in and capitalize on Maye’s rookie contract.<\/p>\n

\"Drake
Dec 14, 2025; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) meets Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) on the field after the game at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Minnesota Vikings could trade Justin Jefferson in the offseason, and they should have plenty of interested suitors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2376,"featured_media":259468,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6431,3,26,5,28],"tags":[6181,7753,7659],"class_list":["post-259467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-teams","category-bills","category-vikings","category-patriots","category-saints","tag-justin-jefferson","tag-minnesota-vikings-news","tag-saints-featured"],"modified_by":"David Latham, Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2376"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=259467"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259467\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":259469,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259467\/revisions\/259469"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/259468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=259467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=259467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=259467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}