Justin Jefferson gives Minnesota Vikings fans reason to watch Saturday's preseason game vs. Raiders

The Minnesota Vikings are set to take on the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday, August 10th at U.S. Bank Stadium in their 2024 preseason debut. There are many things for fans to look forward to during the game, including the debut of rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy .

There will be numerous players you wouldn't expect playing in this game. Head coach Kevin O'Connell said as much during his press availability on Thursday.

"There may be a couple guys we hold out, but for the most part we will play the majority of our guys. Sam Darnold will start the game, and then we will transition to J.J. McCarthy, for what I'm very excited to see, a significant amount of work and really see him hopefully apply a lot of the things that he's been doing really well, just as Sam has every day in practice and it's been a really good start to the process for all those guys and now we get the opportunity to play against somebody else in a game setting before our joint practices next week ."

Justin Jefferson to join broadcast booth in preseason game vs. Las Vegas Raiders

Jefferson is one of the players that O'Connell is likely to hold out and for good reason. He's the best wide receiver in the National Football League. Even though he likely won't play in the game, Jefferson will be involved in the broadcast as he will be set to join the broadcast during the entirety of the third quarter.

There usually isn't much to gather from the second half of the third preseason game unless you really want to know about the third and fourth-string players who will likely make up the practice squad. having Jefferson on the broadcast will bring out some excitement for fans who wouldn't necessarily care about the game.

Kickoff to the Vikings season is just one day away.

Related: Answering burning Minnesota Vikings questions: From Sam Darnold to T.J. Hockenson and Christian Darrisaw