Jermar Jefferson is a well-traveled NFL running back now fighting for a roster spot with his sixth team in six seasons: the Minnesota Vikings. Signed off a tryout just days before the Vikings’ 2026 preseason opener, Jefferson is looking to turn a career defined by practice squads and short stints into a genuine, lasting NFL role. Fans searching for Jermar Jefferson Height, Weight, Age, Body Measurement, Girlfriend, DOB want the complete picture, and here we’ve put together his full profile along with everything behind his latest chance in Minnesota.
Jermar was born in Los Angeles, California, and built a genuinely prolific college career at Oregon State before a seventh-round draft slide sent him on an unusually long, winding path through the NFL’s margins.
Jermar Jefferson Full Profile
Name: Jermar Jefferson
Date of Birth: April 15, 2000
Birth Place: Los Angeles, California, USA
Jermar Jefferson Profession: Professional Football Player (Running Back), Minnesota Vikings
Nationality: American
Religion: Not publicly disclosed
Jermar Jefferson Girlfriend: Keeps his personal relationship life private
Jermar Jefferson Horoscope: Aries
Jermar Jefferson Age: 26
Jermar Jefferson Body Measurements: Chest 40 Inches, Waist 32 Inches
Jermar Jefferson Weight: 96 KG (approximately 212–215 lbs)
Jermar Jefferson Height: 5 Feet 10 Inches (178 cm)
Body Type: Compact/Powerful
Eye Color: Brown
Hair Color: Black
How Jefferson Landed With the Vikings
On August 12, 2026, the Minnesota Vikings signed Jefferson and waived running back Jordan Mims in a corresponding roster move, just days ahead of their preseason opener. The move came after Minnesota hosted Jefferson among six players for a workout earlier that week as the team evaluated depth at running back and safety. Vikings general manager and coaching staff reportedly targeted Jefferson in part because of his background running in a wide-zone scheme at Oregon State — a system closely aligned with the run-blocking concepts Minnesota’s own offense favors.
Jefferson joins a Vikings backfield led by veteran Aaron Jones, alongside Jordan Mason and rookie standout Demond Claiborne, who’d emerged as a training-camp surprise in the weeks before Jefferson’s arrival. That crowded depth chart means Jefferson’s opportunity to make Minnesota’s 53-man roster is genuinely competitive, with the preseason serving as his primary window to separate himself from the group.
From Oregon State Record-Setter to Seventh-Round Pick
Before his pro career began, Jefferson was one of the most productive running backs in Oregon State history. As a true freshman in 2018, he set a school single-season record with 1,380 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns on 239 carries, earning Pac-12 Freshman Offensive Player of the Year honors. An ankle injury limited him to nine games in 2019, but he still rushed for 685 yards and eight touchdowns. He closed out his college career in the COVID-shortened 2020 season by leading the Beavers with 858 rushing yards and seven touchdowns in just six games, averaging better than 140 yards per game and earning Co-Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year and First-team All-Pac-12 honors.
Across 27 career games at Oregon State, Jefferson totaled 2,920–2,923 rushing yards (accounts vary slightly) and 27 rushing touchdowns, ranking fifth in school history. Despite that production, questions about his measurables — his Pro Day testing came in below average for NFL running backs in several athletic categories — contributed to him falling to the seventh round, where the Detroit Lions selected him 257th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.
A Career Defined by Practice Squads and Short Stints
Jefferson’s professional career has been the definition of a journeyman’s path. He spent his rookie season on Detroit’s active roster before bouncing between the Lions’ active roster and practice squad from 2022 through 2024, appearing in flashes but never securing a permanent role. In 2025, he signed with the Tennessee Titans, put together a solid preseason (nine carries for 59 yards and a touchdown, plus an 11-yard catch), but was cut before the regular season and didn’t stick on Tennessee’s practice squad. He later signed with the Arizona Cardinals’ practice squad in October 2025, was elevated to the active roster in November, and appeared in two games before Arizona released him in January 2026. A brief, one-week stint with the San Francisco 49ers followed in late May 2026 before he was waived again in early June.
Across his five NFL seasons and stops with four different franchises, Jefferson has appeared in 11 total games, carrying the ball 21 times for 96 yards and two touchdowns, adding five receptions for 33 yards on six targets — a thin statistical résumé that reflects just how difficult it’s been for him to earn sustained playing time at the NFL level, despite his clear college pedigree.
What Standing Out in Minnesota Would Actually Take
For a player with Jefferson’s specific history — repeatedly showing flashes in the preseason before being let go once final roster cuts arrive — every preseason rep with the Vikings carries real weight. Beating out the crowded group ahead of him would likely require a clear, decisive advantage in a specific area: special teams value, pass protection reliability, or a standout performance that gives Minnesota’s coaching staff a concrete reason to keep five running backs on the roster instead of four.
Given that Minnesota’s coaching staff specifically pursued him for his fit in their wide-zone rushing scheme, his best path onto the roster may come down to how convincingly he can translate that scheme experience into productive, efficient carries during live preseason action — precisely the kind of small-sample opportunity that’s defined, and often derailed, his NFL career to this point.
Quick Recap
Jermar Jefferson, born April 15, 2000, in Los Angeles, California, is a well-traveled NFL running back who signed with the Minnesota Vikings on August 12, 2026, after a college career at Oregon State that produced nearly 3,000 rushing yards and back-to-back Pac-12 offensive honors. Standing 5 feet 10 inches tall, Jefferson enters his sixth NFL season and sixth different organization looking to finally secure lasting playing time, after stints with the Detroit Lions, Tennessee Titans, Arizona Cardinals, and a brief week with the San Francisco 49ers produced just 11 career game appearances. With Minnesota’s backfield led by veteran Aaron Jones and featuring an increasingly crowded group of young and journeyman backs, Jefferson’s fight for a roster spot remains a genuine, unresolved storyline as the Vikings finalize their 2026 roster.