Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson said he's "back to normal" from the shoulder injury suffered last month, and it should feel normal to again share a field with Bengals rookie receiver Ja'Marr Chase.
They were Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow's top weapons for a record-setting LSU offense in 2019, with Chase and Jefferson leading college football in receiving touchdowns during that electrifying championship season. Now they'll be on facing teams for the first time.
"We've been sharing some words," Jefferson said Thursday. "Talk some trash, and just having a friendly conversation. But we're both ready for this game, and it's going to be exciting to go up against each other."
Chase, the fifth overall pick this spring, led the NCAA with 1,780 yards and 20 touchdowns the last time he played a full season. He opted out in 2020. Jefferson wasn't far behind with 1,540 yards and 18 touchdowns before he became a Vikings first-round pick. They had emphatically stamped a transformative two years together with the Tigers.
"We helped each other out," Jefferson said, "and it's great to see how far we have come and to see how much we have grown."
Chase gives the Bengals a dangerous trio at receiver, including Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd. But Chase didn't show much in the preseason. He played 18 snaps, only three with Burrow, and dropped some passes. But Vikings cornerback Patrick Peterson sees talent.
"All the potential to be a great one in this league," Peterson said. "Not being able to see much of him throughout the preseason, so it's hard to judge on how they're going to utilize him or what position he's going to be playing. But a very, very talented receiver that has a lot of potential."
Vikings receiver Dede Westbrook appears set to play Sunday after logging another full practice, with Jefferson saying "the knee doesn't look like it's bothering him." Westbrook didn't play in the preseason while recovering from an ACL tear last year.
Barr held out of practice
Linebacker Anthony Barr's ailing knee was "a little bit sore" Thursday after he was a limited participant in Wednesday's practice for the first time in a month, coach Mike Zimmer said, so the Pro Bowl defender didn't practice Thursday.
As for Barr practicing Friday, Zimmer said, "We'll see."
Whenever Barr returns, he could do so in a limited role as the team monitors his knee.
"If he can go [Sunday], maybe monitoring how many reps he gets or what situations he's in the game," co-defensive coordinator Adam Zimmer said. "That's something we have to pay attention to."
Tight end Tyler Conklin, the starter with Irv Smith Jr. on injured reserve, was upgraded to a full participant. He appears set to return from a hamstring injury. That can't be said for rookie left tackle Christian Darrisaw, who left practice after individual drills. He was listed as limited.
"It's going to be a long process," Zimmer said.
Homecoming?
Zimmer returns to Cincinnati, where he was the Bengals' defensive coordinator from 2008 through 2013, doing so with a growing list of people who want tickets to Sunday's game, and a nearby ranch that's now bigger than the team's nearly 200-acre campus in Eagan. Zimmer said he recently purchased another 100 acres, putting his Walton, Ky., home on 267 acres. He's also up to 30 people requesting tickets.
"Today's only Thursday," he said.
But eight years later, there will be little reminiscing at Paul Brown Stadium.
"We had a lot of good players while I was playing there," Zimmer said. "None of them are still there now. There's other people in the building that I'll see that just like when I go back to Dallas or something like that. But, you know, this is my team now. The Vikings are me and I don't really care about anything else."
Weatherly accepts pay cut
Defensive end Stephen Weatherly accepted a $500,000 pay cut recently to stay with the Vikings this season, but he can make half of that back with just two sacks, according to a league source.
Weatherly is now set to earn a $1.5 million salary, down from the $2 million he re-signed for during free agency this spring. The team approached him about a pay reduction after he lost the competition for a starting job to defensive end D.J. Wonnum, and after the Vikings re-signed defensive end Everson Griffen for more pass rush.
Weatherly is still on a one-year deal, which will now pay him $250,000 for reaching two sacks. That bonus goes up to $1 million if he reaches eight sacks.
Diggs' 'new chapter'
Former Vikings receiver Stefon Diggs was recently named a team captain in Buffalo, where he told reporters Thursday he was a "bad teammate" as his Vikings tenure ended.
"Up [until] me wanting to leave and wanting to go to another place, I was a great teammate," Diggs said. "It wasn't until I wanted to do something else is when I became a bad teammate."
"As far as my new chapter with my new team," Diggs added, "things are going pretty good, and trying to keep it that way."
