Justin Jefferson trade rumors may not be completely false after all

The Minnesota Vikings recently shut down all hopes that All-World wide receiver Justin Jefferson is available via trade as he enters the final year of his rookie contract.

However, by then, it was already too late. The NFL rumor mill has been buzzing about the possibility of Jefferson going to the Cincinnati Bengals, reuniting him with former college teammates Ja’Marr Chase and Joe Burrow.

The speculation stems from alleged news by Burrow’s girlfriend, Olivia Holzmacher, who allegedly told a colleague at Kroger about a potential blockbuster deal between the Bengals and Vikings, which includes Jefferson. 

Former Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert only added fuel to the fire with his post on X (formerly known as Twitter):

On the surface, it seems far-fetched to think that the two sides even engaged in trade discussions involving Jefferson. But the trade rumors may not be entirely false based on recent activity from the Bengals official social media account.

Is there some truth to Justin Jefferson-Bengals rumors?

“Twitter has now reached ‘My friend at Kroger…’ rumors,” the Bengals tweeted. “Free agency is wild,” they added.

It has been an incredibly compelling free agency this offseason, with several high-profile players changing teams, and we’ve now reached a point where we are gathering information about offseason moves from a source at our local grocery store.

Per the Kroger inside scoop, Cincy would be sending Tee Higgins (who recently requested a trade after admitting the team hasn’t approached him about an extension since March 2023) and two first-round picks to Minnesota for Jefferson, who they would then sign to a three-year, $100 million contract extension along with Chase.

While whoever runs Cincinnati’s X/Twitter account is likely out of the loop regarding Bengals front office decisions and conversations, it’s at the least noteworthy to see an official page that represents the team taking note of the rumors.

After forming arguably the most potent offensive trio in college football history at LSU, it’s fun to imagine what Burrow, Jefferson, and Chase could do together on the gridiron in the NFL, and the Bengals social media account leads us to believe the idea may not be as outlandish as we previously thought.