Following his team's surprising loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson was asked about whether his feelings about his current team have changed or not after he was unable to get a contract extension before the start of the regular season.
Jefferson is not one who is known to shy away from the truth when answering questions, and this remained true with his response to the question about not getting an extension from the Vikings.
"Not really. I have the same mindset as I had before. At the end of the day, all I can do is play football. And that's what I continue to do.
I know my team. My team doesn't care about the contract, you know? And I don't either. I just want to be here for my teammates, play for my teammates, and, of course, get these wins."
In all likelihood, Jefferson was probably a little frustrated that he and Minnesota were unable to agree to a new contract. But he has also made it clear throughout his entire career that he's going to approach each game with the same effort, regardless of whether he's the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL or not.
Had the Vikings won on Sunday, Jefferson's contract probably wouldn't have even been brought up during the post-game. But since Minnesota lost, it's easy for people to point at that situation as a reason why the team didn't get a win over the Bucs.
On Sunday, Jefferson had seven catches for 138 yards in just the first half. He finished with nine catches for 150 yards. Those aren't exactly numbers someone would put up if they were distracted by a failed contract negotiation.
Jefferson did all he could in Week 1 to help the Vikings in their attempt to get a win over Tampa Bay. Other members of Minnesota's roster just made too many mistakes for the team to overcome, and it resulted in the team getting off to an 0-1 start for the third time in the last four seasons.