Amid the Vikings' turmoil at quarterback, receiver Justin Jefferson said Wednesday that they just need a passer to "manage the game" and play with confidence and consistency.
Coach Kevin O'Connell is not scheduled to address reporters until Thursday regarding who's starting on Sunday night against the Packers. Rookie quarterback Jaren Hall appeared to get more snaps from center Garrett Bradbury during the roughly 10-minute portion of Wednesday's practice open to reporters. This comes after O'Connell said Tuesday he would consider a change after Nick Mullens' four-interception effort in Sunday's loss to the Lions.
"I've been kind of preaching it ever since we've had the quarterback change," Jefferson said. "It's all about confidence. Have that confidence to go out there and make throws, make the proper reads and just manage the game. ... We just need to be more consistent. It's not just talking about quarterbacks. It's more than just the quarterbacks. The whole team plays a part in the quarterback's job."
Jefferson, who led the Vikings with 141 receiving yards against Detroit, has not played in a game with Hall, the rookie fifth-round pick out of Brigham Young. Jefferson was on injured reserve when Hall replaced an injured Kirk Cousins for 11 snaps at Green Bay on Oct. 29, and when Hall played just 11 snaps before suffering a concussion in his lone NFL start on Nov. 5 at Atlanta.
"He has been doing a great job learning," Jefferson said. "It doesn't matter who's out there at quarterback, we have that confidence in them. We feel the preparation we have throughout the week gets them right for the game. I feel like Jaren is definitely a great quarterback. He definitely has some potential to spark this offense up if we put him out there to play, but we have confidence in whoever."
Jefferson, a first-year team captain, was asked what an injury-riddled roster has left to give.
"I'm going to give everything I can for this team, for this organization to keep winning," Jefferson said. "I always will be that leader, that captain on this team. I'll definitely carry that 'C' on my chest with honor. As long as we have opportunities to play this game, they're going to get the best out of me every single time."
During Jefferson's news conference, news broke that Packers' top cornerback Jaire Alexander can't play Sunday night due to a one-game suspension for "conduct detrimental to the team." Alexander, who is not a team captain, inserted himself into the midfield coin toss of last week's win vs. the Panthers.
