Vikings' big-picture plan for Justin Jefferson will frustrate fans

The Minnesota Vikings are treating Justin Jefferson with the utmost caution this season.

Jefferson was listed as questionable ahead of the Vikings' Week 10 matchup against the Saints on Sunday, having just returned to practice this past week.

The star wideout suffered a hamstring injury in early October and was placed on injured reserve. His window for being activated from injured reserve has already opened, but it looks like Minnesota is waiting at least one more week until doing so.

Tom Pelissero first reported that Jefferson would sit out of the Vikings-Saints game.

Vikings star Justin Jefferson will not play in Week 10 vs. Saints

In Jefferson's absence, rookie Jordan Addison has stepped up as a verifiable deep threat and has recorded 534 receiving yards and seven touchdowns on the year.

The Vikings will still be hurting from Kirk Cousins' season-ending injury, yet they managed to secure a solid starter in ex-Cardinals quarterback Josh Dobbs. It'll be exciting to see how well Dobbs and Jefferson work together once Jefferson recovers to full health.

Prior to Week 10's game, Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell dampened fans' hopes of seeing Jefferson back on the field when he said it would be "aggressive" for the star to play against New Orleans.

From a big picture perspective, Minnesota is making the wisest move by holding Jefferson out until he's 100 percent healthy -- a handful of fans (and fantasy football players) may not be so happy about the decision, though.

Jefferson's next chance to play is Week 11 when the Vikings take on the Denver Broncos.