Minnesota Vikings All-Pro wide receiver Justin Jefferson couldn't contain his excitement earlier this week when the NFL announced that it will allow players to take part in flag football during the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, California.
"I'm just at a loss of words. Just to think about the chances of playing in the Olympics and getting a gold medal is a dream."
But with the 2028 Olympics currently scheduled to take place from July 14th to July 30th, Jefferson and a number of other NFL players could be met with a scheduling conflict that prevents them from participating.
Typically, teams around the league begin their annual training camps during one of the final two weeks in July. If this remains the case in 2028, then Minnesota and other teams around the NFL will have to decide if they are okay with letting their star players miss practice time to take part in the Olympics.
Should the Minnesota Vikings encourage Justin Jefferson to play in the 2028 Olympics?
Training camp is essential to the success of every team in the league, but let's fast forward to three years from now.
By 2028, if Jefferson is still a member of the Vikings and the team is still running the same offense under head coach Kevin O'Connell, is the wide receiver's upcoming season going to be doomed if he misses a few training camp practices? Probably not.
However, if Minnesota has a completely different head coach and quarterback in 2028 than they currently do, then that might be a scenario where the team would rather have Jefferson pick training camp over the Olympics in order to get as familiar as he can with a potential new offense and starting signal-caller.
There's also the risk of Jefferson suffering an injury in the Olympics that the Vikings would have to consider. But he could also get injured during training camp, so this might not be as big of a dilemma to the team as some possibly believe.
Unless Jefferson playing in the Olympics is going to drastically change the future of the franchise, then Minnesota should have no problem with him participating in the event. It's literally a once in a lifetime opportunity and the star receiver clearly already has hopes being a part of history.
The Vikings should be helping Jefferson live out his dreams, not crushing them.