Minnesota Vikings

Justin Jefferson was not only the best player on the field for the Vikings this weekend -- he was also the most swagged out ... 'cause he rocked a pair of Swarovski crystal-filled spikes that were AWESOME!!

JJ hit up celeb shoe artist Mache for the pieces earlier this season -- and the dude went crazy on the spikes ... icing out a pair of all-black cleats for the Minnesota star to wear against the Seahawks.

On one of the shoes, Mache threw crystals on a big jet -- a nod to Jefferson's "jet" nickname (as well as his sweet diamond pendant). On the other, the artist made two "Js" shine as well.

And, Jefferson certainly didn't disappoint in his first game wearing them -- catching 9 passes for 118 yards and a touchdown.

It wasn't hard to see Jefferson was in love with the pair even before ballin' out in them, 'cause Mache shared a video of the moment the wideout received them, and he was in awe.

Everson Griffen will miss the Vikings' game this weekend ... after he injured himself attempting to swerve out of the way of a deer in the road on Thursday.

Minnesota head coach Mike Zimmer explained the situation to reporters Friday ... saying Griffen crashed his car while trying to avoid the animal.

Zimmer said the 33-year-old pass rusher was later diagnosed with a concussion ... and is now out of action indefinitely.

"Swerved to miss a deer," Zimmer told media members of the incident. "Got in a car accident."

We've reached out to law enforcement for more information on the wreck ... but so far, no word back yet.

Griffen -- who played for Minnesota from 2010 to 2019 -- re-signed with the Vikings just a few weeks ago ... and played in the team's opener against Cincinnati last Sunday.

Kirk Cousins is getting cut -- not by the Minnesota Vikings, but his hometown hospital ... and it's all thanks to his stance against taking the COVID-19 vaccine.

Cousins is one of the most famous celebs out of Holland, Michigan ... becoming a high school superstar before taking his talents to Michigan State.

The 32-year-old signal-caller has served as a spokesperson for the Holland Hospital in the past ... but a spokesperson says they will be distancing themselves from Cousins for the time being.

"While we acknowledge that each person is entitled to their own viewpoints, those who speak on our behalf must support the messages that align with the hospital’s position on matters of vital importance to individual and community health," the statement said.

Remember, Cousins said he'll do everything in his power to stay healthy and safe during the NFL season ... that is, except getting the vaccination.

As a hospital, they saw no choice but to move on from Cousins, who is actively and openly refuting recommendations from leading medical experts and the CDC.

Holland Hospital was nice during the breakup, however, ... adding, "We are proud of our association with Kirk. He embodies many values we respect and share as a part of our work culture."

Worth noting -- while the NFL is implementing rules that push their players towards the vaccine, Cousin’s Vikings have among the lowest vaccination rate of any team in the league.

Vikings corner Jeff Gladney -- a star rookie for Minnesota in 2020 -- has just been indicted on a felony domestic violence charge ... and his football future is now very much up in the air.

Gladney was accused of violently beating his girlfriend in the Dallas area back in April ... after cops say the couple got into an argument over the contents of the woman's cell phone.

According to court docs, Gladney's accuser told officials the football player snapped after he found something on her phone ... hitting her, choking her, and dragging her by her hair across the ground.

Gladney was eventually arrested and posed for a mug shot.

It took several months, though, for a grand jury to hear the case ... but on Tuesday, it was revealed they indicted Gladney on a felony charge of third-degree family violence assault.

It's a VERY serious matter for the NFL player -- who's been away from the Vikings since his arrest -- because if convicted, Gladney faces up to 10 years behind bars.

With the case now moving forward -- potentially even resulting in a trial -- Gladney could now be asked to stay away from the Vikings indefinitely ... or even find himself cut from the roster.

Gladney is also facing a civil lawsuit from his accuser, who filed docs in court last month seeking $1 million in damages.

In her suit, the woman says after Gladney was violent with her, he "attempted to bribe, threaten, blackmail, and manipulate" her to keep quiet about it all.

Gladney has not publicly commented on the allegations.

The former TCU star -- a Vikings first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft -- started 15 games for Minnesota last season, recording 81 total tackles and 3 pass breakups.

NFL coach Rick Dennison is now no longer a member of the Minnesota Vikings staff ... and it's reportedly all 'cause the guy refused to take the COVID vaccine.

Dennison, according to ESPN, recently affirmed his decision to not get the shots ... and with the NFL rules making it nearly impossible for coaches to coach without them, he's now OUT in Minnesota.

The 63-year-old had been the Vikings' offensive line coach and run game coordinator ... working with the team since 2019.

If you weren't aware, the NFL made it mandatory this offseason for all Tier 1 staffers -- which includes coaches -- to get the vaccine in order to have direct contact with players in meeting rooms and on the field.

The league did allow exceptions -- saying valid medical or religious reasons would be considered -- but it's clear Dennison did not meet those standards.

ESPN reports Phil Rauscher, who was the team's assistant offensive line coach, will now fill for Dennison in 2021.

Dennison -- who's coached in the NFL since 1995 and helped Dalvin Cook blossom into one of the league's best rushers -- is believed to be the first NFL coach to leave his team over the league's vaccine rules.

The Vikings, meanwhile, are set to begin training camp next week and kick off their season in September.

Story developing ...

"The whole stadium is not nice. There's nothing fancy about it. It's bleacher seats!"

That's Vikings star Adam Thielen taking a verbal dump all over Lambeau Field ... and, yeah, Packers fans ain't exactly loving it.

The Minnesota wide receiver threw the jabs on GOLF's Subpar podcast earlier this month ... straight-up saying Green Bay's famous stadium is just not as nice as the Vikings'.

Of course, the comments have been polarizing ... with even Cleveland Browns legend Joe Thomas racing in to defend the facilities.

"Lambeau field is the coolest stadium to play at in pro football," the former O-lineman said.

But, Thielen is admittedly biased ... he's a longtime Viking who's been trained to hate the Pack -- and he even said Lambeau is actually his favorite place to play because a win there is just so sweet.

"There's nothing better than leaving Lambeau with a victory," the 30-year-old said. "There's literally nothing better."

Thielen continued, "On the reverse side, there's nothing worse than losing there."

Get a sick headshot ... then hit The Griddy next?!?

Players in Fortnite will now be able to do exactly that ... and it's all because Justin Jefferson made the dance famous during his touchdown celebrations!!!

Here's the deal if you ain't familiar ... the Minnesota Vikings superstar has been hitting the move in endzones since his LSU days, where he got inspiration for the dance from its creator, Louisiana athlete Allen "Griddy" Davis.

In fact, Jefferson scored so much and did the dance so much ... it became a phenomenon, with athletes from every major sport hitting the move to celebrate big plays!

Now, it's grown so huge, it's getting immortalized in Fortnite, with reps for the game announcing Monday the Griddy will be a new "emote" that players can hit in matches.

As for how it'll look in the game, check out the video of Jefferson's avatar hitting the dance ... it's spot on!!!

Reps for Fortnite say the emote be available starting Wednesday ... and Justin couldn't be more pumped about it.

Adam Thielen is turning one amazing gesture into two ... the Minnesota Vikings star is now auctioning off his Alex Trebek tribute cleats to raise money for pancreatic cancer research.

The 30-year-old wide receiver rocked the spikes for a game just days after the "Jeopardy!" host died in November -- and the homage was awesome.

One of the cleats featured an image of Trebek with a halo. The other had a painted-on "Jeopardy!" style placard that read, "We Will Miss You, Alex."

Now, Thielen is taking the cool tribute one step further ... announcing Friday he's going to sell the footwear with all of the proceeds slated to help the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network find a cure.

As we previously reported, Trebek died due to the disease ... and urged "Jeopardy!" audience members just days before his passing to be wary of symptoms and get tested.

The auction for Thielen's cleats begins Friday and ends Jan. 18.

"F*ck, Kirk! Come on! Throw the ball!"

Vikings superstar Justin Jefferson UNLOADED on his quarterback, Kirk Cousins, after an errant throw during Sunday's game ... and the wideout's mini-rant was all caught on a hot mic.

Here's the deal ... in the 2nd quarter of Minnesota's 33-27 loss to Chicago -- Jefferson was open in the back of the end zone for a touchdown.

The problem? Cousins was scrambling to his left and couldn't make an accurate throw -- leading to an incompletion.

Justin -- who's absolutely BALLIN' OUT in his first year in the league -- was NOT happy about it ... and screamed at the QB.

The clip went viral ... and after the game, Jefferson wrote on social media the outburst should not cause people to label him a "diva."

"y’all love blowing stuff out off proportion," the 21-year-old said. "And I ain’t no diva don’t get it twisted."

The Bills absolutely did NOT give up too much to get Stefon Diggs ... so says Bruce Smith, who tells TMZ Sports the wide receiver has completely changed Buffalo's offense!!

"[He's] doing an outstanding job," the Bills legend said of the former Vikings star. "I mean, he's making everyone around him better."

Buffalo gave up quite the haul to steal Diggs away from Minnesota this offseason ... trading away a shipload of picks -- including its 2020 1st-rounder -- for the 27-year-old.

And, at the time, many thought that was way too much to give up for a guy who hadn't necessarily proven he was a legit #1 wideout in Minnesota.

But, Smith says Diggs has been worth all of it AND more ... telling us the receiver is one of the biggest reasons Josh Allen and the whole Bills offense has lurched forward this season.

"He's making [Cole] Beasley better," Smith says. "He's making the running game better. He's making the offensive linemen better."

In fact, Smith praised the hell out of the Bills' brass for pulling the trigger on a trade not everyone loved initially!!

Diggs is tied for the NFL lead in catches with 90 and he's also 5th in the league with 1,037 receiving yards ... which, as Smith says, sure seems worth all those picks to us!

How's Justin Jefferson rewarding himself for ballin' the hell out during his rookie season?!

BLING, BABY!!!

TMZ Sports has learned the Minnesota Vikings star receiver just copped a new diamond chain featuring a jet pendant ... and it's AWESOME!!!

We're told the wideout hit up Leo Frost in Houston a few weeks ago to get the ice made ... and the famed jeweler sure as hell delivered.

The jet -- an obvious nod to Justin's "Jet" nickname -- is iced out ... while the chain features stars on the links.

All told, the piece is 14k gold with 37 carats of VVS diamonds!!

No word on what JJ paid for the drip ... but don't worry -- dude can afford it, he signed a 4-year, $13 MILLION deal this year!!

This wide receiver is rockin' custom cleats to honor Alex Trebek on "Monday Night Football" ...

If that were a clue on "Jeopardy!", the answer would be "Who is Adam Thielen?" ... 'cause the Minnesota Vikings star decided to pay homage to the late game show host by wearing the amazing footwear for his game against the Chicago Bears on Monday.

The cleat artist, Dan "Mache" Gamache, posted pics of Thielen's new spikes for the evening ... and they're pretty incredible.

On one of the cleats, there's an image of Trebek with a halo and the dates 1940-2020.

On the other, there's a painted-on, "Jeopardy!"-style answer that reads, "We Will Miss You, Alex" with a price of $19,000 -- a nod to Thielen's #19 jersey number.

"For #MNF pregame tonight my guy @athielen19 will be honoring the legend Alex Trebek who passed last week," Mache said of the cleats on social media.

"I feel like no matter where you were from I feel like Jeopardy was a part of all of our lives in some way."

As we previously reported, Trebek tragically died at 80 years old earlier this month after a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer.

Tributes from all over the world have rolled in since his death ... with officials in his hometown of Greater Sudbury, Ontario already kicking around the idea of building him a statue.

The Minnesota Vikings say they are shutting down plans to allow fans at their 4 remaining home games -- explaining it's just too dangerous right now.

The Vikings have only allowed 250 fans at U.S. Bank Stadium at home games so far this season ... but have been pursuing options to allow thousands more to attend -- with COVID-19 protocols in place.

But Wednesday, the team announced it is canning those plans in light of rising COVID infection rates in the state of Minnesota.

"We will no longer pursue hosting more than 250 fans for the remaining 2020 Vikings regular-season home games," the team said.

"While we have worked hard to develop a safe and responsible plan to bring back a limited number of fans, our decisions have been based on medical guidance with public health as the top priority," the team said in a statement.

"We take seriously Minnesota's rising COVID infection rates and increasing hospitalizations and believe closing the final four home games to fans is the right decision to help protect our community."

George Floyd was top of mind for the Minnesota Vikings ahead of their first game in a pandemic-riddled season -- and they paid tribute to him with his family in attendance.

FOX 9's Dawn Mitchell tweeted a video from high up in the stands of a mostly empty U.S. Bank Stadium -- which showed, before kickoff, all of the Vikings players standing shoulder-to-shoulder at the goal line as the announcer made some comments about Floyd's story.

George's family members were captured on the Jumbotron, standing together, as everyone looked on. The big screen also displayed snapshots of some of the many memorials/murals that have popped up around town in the wake of his death.

The Vikings' remembrance was one of the more stand-out ones across the leagues as games ramped up -- other teams had more scattered approaches to addressing social justice.

The Browns' Myles Garrett took a knee, all Patriots players stood together, Colts head coach Frank Reich knelt himself, and the Dolphins remained in the tunnel during the National Anthem. There's more games to come, but so far ... not everyone's on the same page.

Of course, any and all of these reactions are better than what some fans did during Thursday night's premiere match between the Chiefs and Texans ... fans booed when the players locked arms in unity.

The Minnesota Vikings will pay tribute to George Floyd's family prior to their season opener on Sunday ... announcing plans to host them for a powerful moment before the game.

Vikings players have been outspoken following Floyd's death in Minneapolis back in May ... with stars like Anthony Barr and Eric Kendricks demanding justice.

The team laid out its plan to bring more awareness to social justice on Friday ... revealing Floyd's family will be in attendance for a tribute following the rendition of the Black national anthem, "Lift Every Voice And Sing."

On top of the league-wide gestures -- helmet decals, end zone messages and pre-game t-shirts -- the Vikings will host music group "Sounds of Blackness" to perform the national anthem ... as well as honor community leaders who have fought for equality.

Great news for Minnesota Vikings LB Cameron Smith ... the team says he had successful open heart surgery Monday -- just a few weeks after COVID testing found a congenital issue.

Smith said earlier this month that after he was diagnosed with coronavirus ... his doctors did further testing and discovered he had an irregular valve in his heart that could have killed him.

"It is really a blessing that we found this," Smith said, "as my heart is severely enlarged and wouldn’t have lasted much longer."

Vikes head coach Mike Zimmer said Tuesday that Smith underwent the operation Monday and is still recovering at the hospital ... but added he's hopeful the 23-year-old can rejoin his teammates later this season.

Of course, Smith is out for the year and his future as a football player is in jeopardy ... but the former USC star has vowed to make every effort to one day get back on the field.

"By no means am I ready to be done playing football," Smith said. "There is still so much more I want to accomplish on the field."