As players return to TCO Performance Center in Eagan this week for training camp, the Vikings are doing everything in their power to make sure the legacy of the late Khyree Jackson lives on after he was killed in a car accident on July 6 in his Maryland hometown.

His jersey number and locker inside TCO Performance Center will go unused this season. His teammates will wear helmet decals with the initials “KJ” whenever they step on the field. His memory will be emblazoned on the practices fields in the form of stenciling.

The impact that Jackson made in his short time with the Vikings was apparent simply by listening to general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and coach Kevin O’Connell speak about the player they selected with the No. 108 pick in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL draft.

“Just a joyful spirit,” Adofo-Mensah said. “It’s a tragedy that he’s not here.”

A funeral for Jackson will be held on Friday, and Adofo-Mensah, O’Connell, defensive coordinator Brian Flores, specials teams coordinator Matt Daniels and defensive backs coach Daronte Jones will be in attendance at the service.

As an organization, the Vikings will cover more than $20,000 in expenses for the funeral, and they will pay Jackson’s signing bonus of $827,148 to his estate. Additionally, the Vikings plan to fly Jackson’s family to Minnesota at a later date for a celebration of life.

It was easy to root for Jackson considering his journey to the NFL.

He stepped away from football as a teenager and worked at a local grocery store before eventually deciding to give it another shot. He went on to play at Arizona Western College, Fort Scott Community College, East Mississippi Community College, the University of Alabama and, finally, the University of Oregon, before being drafted by the Vikings.

There was no doubt Jackson was going to battle for playing time this season.

“You felt a guy that had such a laser focus on what his mission was,” O’Connell said. “He had a very, very good spring and was really looking forward to coming back to training camp and being well on his way on that path to having a big impact on our team.”

As news of Jackson’s tragic death spread this month with everybody on summer break, the Vikings tried to connect players and make sure they knew there were resources to help them grieve.

“We wanted to make sure first and foremost that in the initial aftermath the guys didn’t feel like they were on their own,” O’Connell said. “As we work through training camp, we’ll talk, and we’ll have those team meetings where we’ll make sure that we’re giving guys opportunities to seek those resources if they feel that they need them.”

As he contemplated how else the Vikings would honor Jackson moving forward, Adofo-Mensah noted how a lot of it will be centered on the memories they have of him. The way he laughed. The way he smiled. The way he worked to get to this point.

He might be gone. He is certainly not forgotten.

“I think it is a wake up call in a lot of ways that we are not guaranteed another day on this earth at any point in time,” O’Connell said. “My message is going to be coming from my heart where I say, ‘I’m not going to take a single day, minute, moment that I have for granted.’”

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