There’s a good chance star receiver Justin Jefferson is inactive when the Vikings host the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football.

That’s more than OK.

The past month and a half has been a masterclass from the Vikings in how to take care of their best player. Not every team in the NFL would have been so patient.

Literally from the moment that Jefferson hobbled to the sidelines on Oct. 8 during a game against the Kansas City Chiefs at U.S. Bank Stadium, the Vikings immediately started to devise a thorough game plan that ensured he wouldn’t rush back from his hamstring injury at any point.

The common refrain from head coach Kevin O’Connell along the way has centered on the Vikings not being willing to cut corners with the recovery process. No matter the circumstance. That includes being fresh off a loss heading into a primetime game against a division rival.

“We have urgency to win this football game,” O’Connell said with the Vikings needing a win over the Bears to keep pace in the NFC North. “We’re just not going to allow that to distract us from the fact that we started out with some really strong  principles of making sure Justin was 100 percent healthy when he returned.”

It’s the right way to handle the situation, especially for somebody like Jefferson, who is so important to the future of the franchise. There’s no reason to risk turning his hamstring injury into something chronic. Not for a 24-year-old who has his whole career ahead of him.

Now of course it’s helped that the Vikings have had a massive amount of success in his absence. They are somehow 5-1 without him in the lineup with wins over the Bears, San Francisco 49ers, Green Bay Packers, Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints.

All the while, Jefferson has been hard at work behind the scenes, doing everything in his power to get back on the field with his teammates.

After placing him on injured reserve last month, the Vikings notably opened the 21-day practice window on Nov. 8, giving themselves a deadline to activate him. As a result, Jefferson has been peppered with questions ever since regarding when he plans to return to the field. He’s taken it in stride as best he can.

“It’s definitely frustrating,” Jefferson said. “It’s tough to be patient.”

That patience will be rewarded soon enough. If he ends up sitting out when the Vikings play the Bears, he will be in position to return after the upcoming bye week.

Frankly, the way the Vikings have operated throughout the recovery process, it would be surprising if they decided to bring him back on Monday Night Football. Why not utilize the upcoming bye week as a way to inherently give him some extra time to heal up?

It’s worth noting that Jefferson has been putting in some work with quarterback Josh Dobbs in practice. They are in the process of establishing a rapport so they can hit the ground running with the Vikings heading into the home stretch.

“We’re excited for when he’s back out there making plays,” Dobbs said. “We know the type of value he brings to this offense.”

There’s been a noticeable energy at TCO Performance Center as of late with Jefferson back slowly working his way back into the mix.

“It’s been good to see him back in the huddle with the guys,” O’Connell said. “I know everybody’s pretty fired up for when we get him back.”

The ultimate goal when this thing started was making sure Jefferson was back to 100 percent before he returned to action. He’s getting close. Let’s give the Vikings deserve credit for not rushing the recovery process.

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