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Justin Jefferson and Odell Beckham Jr. have a few things in common.
First, they each played their collegiate ball with the LSU Tigers. Second, they’ve each been superstar wide receivers in the NFL. And now, they’re teammates on the Minnesota Vikings, and the 27-year-old Jefferson is thrilled to be teammates with the veteran Beckham.
“It’s definitely cool,” Jefferson said in a press conference on Wednesday afternoon about the Vikings signing Beckham. “All of the years I’ve watched him play and looked up to his game and his play style, both on and off the field, how he carries himself as a superstar in the league and just managing it. We’ve been brothers for a very, very long time. The connection has always been there. We’ve always kind of talked about this moment and one day being able to play with each other, but for it to actually be here is definitely crazy.
“He called me last night to tell me that he was coming down and just the excitement on his face and just the excitement that we both share together, it was definitely a cool moment.”
Minnesota signed Beckham to its practice squad Wednesday, which comes in the wake of Jefferson missing the team’s Week 4 win over the Miami Dolphins with an ankle injury. Beckham, who was a Pro Bowler with the New York Giants from 2014-16 and spent the first five seasons of his NFL career with the Giants (2014-18), was released by New York last week after logging just one target in the team’s first three games.
Beckham didn’t play in 2025. Prior to the aforementioned gap year, he had one-year stints with the Miami Dolphins (2024) and Baltimore Ravens (2023), preceded by missing the 2022 season due to a torn ACL and helping the Los Angeles Rams win the Super Bowl in 2021; the Giants traded Beckham to the Browns in 2019, with the receiver playing two-plus years in Cleveland before being waived during the 2021 season and joining the Rams.
Over the three games he has played this season, Jefferson, a two-time All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowler, has totaled 13 receptions for 179 yards and two touchdowns. While Minnesota is 4-0, its offense has struggled, as the Vikings are last in the NFL in passing yards (156.0 per game), 31st in total yards (262.8 per game), 18th in points (21.5 per game) and 16th in rushing yards (106.8 per game).
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As for their collegiate careers, Jefferson, who played for the Tigers from 2017-19 and was part of their 2019 National Championship team, is tied for third in LSU history with 24 receiving touchdowns, is sixth outright with 165 receptions and seventh with 2,415 receiving yards. Beckham, who played in Baton Rouge from 2011-13, is ninth in LSU history with 2,340 receiving yards and was selected by the Giants with the No. 12 pick in the 2014 NFL Draft after a standout junior season that saw him average 19.5 yards per reception.
Jefferson, Beckham and the Vikings have a road matchup against the New Orleans Saints in Week 5 (Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on FOX).
