There seemed to be a school of thought last month that suggested star receiver Justin Jefferson might be willing to sit out this season if the Vikings didn’t turn things around and start winning some games. He suffered a hamstring injury on Oct. 8 as the Vikings dropped to 1-4 with a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

The fact that Jefferson did not have a contract extension in his possession left many to wonder if there was enough incentive for him to push himself to get back on the field. Why rush back if the Vikings might be out of the playoff race by the time he’s 100 percent?

Talking to reporters on Thursday for the first time since his hamstring injury, the 24-year-old Jefferson defiantly dispelled those notions. Never mind that the Vikings haven’t lost a game since he went down. He emphasized that he would have been doing everything in his power to get back even if they had lost every game in his absence.

“I always say I want to be a hall of famer,” he said. “I can’t be missing games for the fun of it.”

Though he returned to practice at TCO Performance Center this week as a limited participant, Jefferson is unlikely to play for the Vikings when they host the New Orleans Saints on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium. He’s focused on getting back to 100 percent before he’s activated from injured reserve.

“I don’t want to have any doubts in my mind that (the injury) is going to come back or continue to linger,” Jefferson aid. “The main objective is to get to 100 percent.”

Notably, the Vikings designated him for return this week, which means they have 21 days from that date to activate him. If they do not activate him at the end of the 21 days, they have to shut him down for the rest of this season. That doesn’t seem like it’s going to be an issue.

“It’s getting better and better every single day,” Jefferson said “Just working with everybody and making sure that I’m getting the proper treatment.”

As for the particular play that caused the hamstring injury, Jefferson didn’t have much of an explanation for it. He slipped while running a route and he felt the hamstring tightened up. After going through initial testing in the immediate aftermath, he had a pretty good idea he was going to miss an extended period of time.

“It sucks not being able to play,” he said. “The best thing to do is just try to recover and get out there as fast as possible.”

In the meantime, Jefferson has been the team’s biggest cheerleader on the sidelines, tirelessly hyping up his teammates whenever he can.

“That’s who I am,” he said. “I love the game of football.”

This is the longest stretch he has had to go without it, and while he’s on the verge of coming back, he won’t do so until he’s back to 100 percent.

“It’s not something I’m used to,” Jefferson said. “It makes me want to get back on that field even more.”

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