Aug 12, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, USA; A view of a Minnesota Vikings helmet at Paul Brown Stadium. The Vikings won 17-16. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports.
It’s now who you’d think.
CBS Sports published an article on Wednesday, one day before the NFL’s start of the regular season, detailing three players who could be next in line for “massive extensions” after Denver Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II secured a four-year, $96 million contract.
Oddly, per Cody Benjamin, Minnesota Vikings safety Josh Metellus made the cut.
“The former sixth-round pick isn’t necessarily on the national radar, but Vikings fans know this man as the Swiss Army knife of Minnesota’s defense,” Benjamin wrote about Metellus on Wednesday.
Name-dropping Metellus was a bit strange because a) He wouldn’t make too many such lists for the next big extension in the NFL b) Safeties don’t typically break the bank like cornerbacks or players at other premium positions.
Benjamin added, “Forever shifting between roles on the back end, be it safety or nickel corner or even linebacker, Metellus was always around the ball (116 tackles, 2.5 sacks, seven tackles for loss, five pass breakups) for Brian Flores in 2023, and Harrison Smith won’t be around forever.”
A former 6th-Round draft pick, Metellus emerged into a bonafide starter last season, logging 116 total tackles, 10 QB hits, 7 tackles for loss, 4 forced fumbles, 2.5 sacks, an interception, and a 69.2 Pro Football Focus grade. The 26-year-old was also a Pro Bowl alternate and was oh-so-close to his first such nod.
Right before the 2023 season kicked off, the Vikings awarded Metellus a two-year contract extension, affixing the Michigan alumnus to the roster through the end of 2025. The move looks marvelous in retrospect.
Last summer, Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah accurately predicted Metellus’ breakout. In June 2023, Adofo-Mensah joined Peter Schrager’s podcast and was asked to name his pick for the club’s unsung hero. Without hesitation, the young executive replied, “Josh Metellus. He’s a safety, and he’ll play some more this year, so I think you’ll see the stuff that we’ve seen. He was a special teams stalwart last year, team-captain type. I was in the team meeting room later in the season after [Brian O’Neill] got hurt, [Metellus] was given team captain.”
“You can feel when somebody’s teammates really love them, really appreciate them and really want to follow them into battle, and he’s one of those guys. He’s everything that the Minnesota Vikings are about, and I think people are really going to appreciate that more this season,” Adofo-Mensah said 15 months ago.
The man was right.
Regarding a “massive” extension, well, Metellus would have to totally ball out in 2024 — to the tune of an All-Pro season. The NFL’s richest safety, Antoine Winfield Jr., earns $21 million per year and Metellus nibbling at that salary seems unlikely, at least in September 2024.
Metellus and the Vikings take on the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on Sunday and are favored to win by a point or two.
DK Metcalf of the Seattle Seahawks and Rashawn Slater of the Los Angeles Chargers also made Benjamin’s list.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.