Breaking: Just give Vikings star Justin Jefferson a chance. He’s here to…..

It’s reasonable to anticipate that Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson won’t play in Saturday afternoon’s preseason game against the Browns in Cleveland. The same is true for experienced quarterback Sam Darnold, who leads Minnesota as the clear-cut starter at this point.

Honestly, the Vikings will probably keep the most of their key players under wraps for the duration of the exhibition schedule after rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy injured his meniscus during last week’s exhibition game.

That’s why it was crucial that the Vikings and Browns practiced together this week. It allowed head coach Kevin O’Connell an opportunity to observe how the Vikings performed in a fiercely competitive setting in addition to providing Darnold and Jefferson with another opportunity to continue aligning.

Regarding Darnold, Jefferson remarked, “He’s still trying to get used to me.” “Just my route running technique and my position on the field.”

Not that Darnold has had much trouble settling in with Jefferson.

“He simplifies things,” Darnold remarked. “He can come down with it, and I can put it pretty much anywhere.”

Several times throughout training camp at TCO Performance Center this summer, Darnold has thrown a deep ball downfield, and Jefferson has successfully chased it down for a significant gain. However, there is certainly space for growth, as the Vikings and Browns’ final joint practice sequence this week demonstrated in real time.