Jefferson entered the season with the goal of becoming the first player to record 2,000 receiving yards in a season and helping the Vikings win their first Super Bowl. But the Week 5 hamstring injury dashed this season’s hope of breaking Calvin Johnson’s league record of 1,964 yards.
Jefferson landed on Injured Reserve, enduring the longest stretch of his college or pro career.
“That was the goal — to get at least close to 2,000 [yards]. But since I got hurt, the new goal is 1,000. Of course, I want to end every single year over 1,000 yards,” Jefferson said. “We are trying to get to the playoffs and get to the Super Bowl. The individual stats are not there for me this year, but it’s more about winning for the team, doing things for the team to help out.”
Jefferson started this season with 36 catches for 571 yards and three scores on 53 targets, good for an average of 114.2 yards per game before the hamstring injury. He was on pace to compete with Dolphins star Tyreek Hill for the NFL single-season receiving yards per game record.
Jefferson’s 106.4 yards per game led the NFL in 2022, along with his 128 receptions and 1,809 yards that topped Vikings single-season records respectively set by Hall of Famers Cris Carter (122 in 1994 and 1995) and Randy Moss (1,632 yards in 2003).
Despite this season’s roller coaster, Jefferson hasn’t swayed from his community commitments.
During the shopping event, it was hard to tell Jefferson has endured so much this season. The 24-year-old superstar was all smiles.
“Hi, I’m Isaiah,” a 7-year-old boy told Jefferson. Standing beside Isaiah was Jaxon, a 9-year-old boy wearing a purple Jefferson jersey.
“I like your jersey, man,” Jefferson said as he squeezed Jaxon’s shoulders and introduced himself.
“It’s the same jersey you got on,” Isaiah said, which earned a gallery full of laughs from Jefferson, Osborn and surrounding families.
The shopping extravaganza started in the toy section.
As Jaxon asked Osborn to reach the top shelf for a toy from Marvel’s The Infinity Gauntlet, Isaiah was busy showing Jefferson how many pushups he could do.
“Five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10,” Jefferson said, counting for Isaiah. “Oh, you are going to give me another one?”
Much to Jefferson’s surprise and delight, Isaiah did 13 pushups in the middle of aisle D54 between Star Wars and Harry Potter toys. Isaiah struck a pose on his feet,…
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