Vikings Rumors: Insider shares latest on Justin Jefferson trade chatter

Among the most recent Minnesota Vikings rumors is one that has people speculating about the team trading Justin Jefferson this year after Kirk Cousins's departure.

Every year, there are a number of Minnesota Vikings rumors that pop up, and most of the time, they are completely false. This seems to be the case with a recent rumor about the Vikings trading superstar wide receiver Justin Jefferson this offseason.

After it was revealed on Monday that veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins is leaving Minnesota this year to sign with the Atlanta Falcons, the chatter and speculation about Jefferson potentially getting traded in the near future has picked up a bunch of steam.

However, a notable NFL insider recently revealed that all of these rumors are likely nothing more than actual steam.

Vikings Rumors: Insider shuts down Justin Jefferson trade speculation

With the rumors starting to get a bit out of control in the last 48 hours, The Athletic's Dianna Russini took to Twitter to share whether or not there's truth to Jefferson being on his way out of Minnesota sooner than later.

According to Russini and The Athletic's Alec Lewis on Wednesday, the Vikings currently have "no plans" of trading their top receiver this offseason.

Now, people will stop speculating about Jefferson being unhappy in Minnesota after Cousins' departure, right?

Probably not.

But Wednesday's info from Russini and Lewis should at least help decrease the amount of trade rumors surrounding Jefferson (hopefully).

In addition to Cousins leaving to sign with the Falcons, the wide receiver's current contract situation is one of the big reasons why some believe Minnesota will move on from him this year.

However, these people are clearly unfamiliar with how the Vikings typically handle their contract extensions for players who are still in the middle of their rookie deals.

Typically, Minnesota waits until after June 1 or after they finalize their regular-season roster in September to get an extension done with a player who is still under the terms of their rookie contract.

Josh Metellus, Brian O'Neill, Dalvin Cook, Stefon Diggs, Xavier Rhodes, and Harrison Smith all signed their second deals with the Vikings after June 1. So, the fact that Jefferson still hasn't signed an extension really has absolutely nothing to do with him being unhappy in Minnesota or anything of that nature.

Could Jefferson be the exception to the Vikings' typical extension process?

Sure, but the bottom line is that Minnesota fans shouldn't be currently losing sleep at night because he hasn't signed a new deal with the team in the middle of March.