Van Jefferson is the man for the Pittsburgh Steelers, at least after George Pickens, in light of Brandon Aiyuk signing an extension with the San Francisco 49ers. The veteran wide receiver is attempting to revitalize his career, which has gone downhill since winning the Super Bowl. While he has also dealt with injury, he seems to think it’s not entirely coincidental.
“After the Super Bowl, you can kind of get complacent”, Jefferson admitted to Mike DeFabo of The Athletic. “It’s like, ‘Bro, you won the Super Bowl. What’s next’”? Jefferson won the Super Bowl with the Rams in 2021, just his second season in the league.
“I got to be accountable to myself, knowing that there’s more work to put in”, Jefferson added. “But at the end of the day, there’s lessons learned. Usually, you want to learn those lessons right there in that moment, but at the same time, you got to learn it the hard way”.
Van Jefferson, a former second-round pick, spent most of his first four seasons with the Rams. Following the rise of then-rookie Puka Nacua, they traded him in the middle of last season to the Falcons. While he didn’t put up many stats, he formed a connection with Arthur Smith, now his offensive coordinator. He knows last year doesn’t represent what he wants from himself—and he knows he played a part in that.
“I’m definitely not OK with how the last season went”, Jefferson said. “Very disappointed in myself. I know I’m way better than what I was, but at the end of the day, stuff happens. You can’t change the outcome of it. You gotta learn from it”.
While Van Jefferson could control his sense of complacency following his early-career success, there were many other things he could not control. He has dealt with injuries, largely knee injuries, for most of his career. Although he’s played every game in three of his four seasons, he missed six in 2022.
Jefferson also had the same problem that year as Allen Robinson II, dealing with QB Matthew Stafford’s own injuries. And, well, it’s not surprising that the Rams wanted to play Puka Nacua more and more last year—he earned it.
The end result was Jefferson signing a veteran-minimum contract with the Steelers this offseason, his first year in free agency. Now 28 years old, he wants to prove that he still has plenty of football left, and high-level football. He believes he has a 1,000-yard season in him, even though he has never done it before.
The odds of that happening aren’t great, I’m sure, but that’s not what the Steelers need from Van Jefferson. What they need is a reliable veteran option who can get open, make key plays, and do the dirty work. He should get all the snaps he needs this season as long as he continues to earn them, so where his career goes from here seems to be up to him.
