4 Vikings Players Who Could Receive Premature Extensions
The Minnesota Vikings’ offseason will begin heating up in three weeks with the commencement of NFL free agency.
4 Vikings Players Who Could Receive Premature Extensions
The 2025 NFL Draft will occur six weeks later.
Meanwhile, in addition to 24 in-house free agents scheduled to test the open market, a handful of Vikings players are possibly eligible for premature extensions.
These are those men listed alphabetically.
Note: This list does not include players whose contracts expired at the end of 2024. Those players can be found here.
1. Josh Metellus (S)
Metellus earned Pro Bowl alternate status in 2024, and he feels like a player who will break through before too long. The veteran defender is one of the most versatile players in the NFL, and that should always be considered when evaluating his merits.
He finished 2024 with a 67.6 PFF mark and led all safeties in quarterback pressures.
Metellus is a mainstay of Brian Flores’ scheme, so a contract extension is in play this offseason, though his deal technically spans through the end of 2025.
Approximate Extension: 3 Years | $27 Million
2. Jalen Nailor (WR)
Nailor compiled 28 receptions for 414 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns in 2024, his first campaign as the honest-to-goodness WR3.
Some onlookers interpreted that stat line as a step in the right direction per the speedster’s development; others hope Minnesota searches free agency this March for an upgrade like Amari Cooper, Stefon Diggs, or even Cooper Kupp.
If the Vikings brass agrees with the keep-Nailor crowd, now is the time to contemplate an extension.
Approximate Extension: 3 Years | $12 Million
3. Ivan Pace Jr. (LB)
Pace joined Minnesota’s roster in 2023 as an undrafted free agent and immediately rose to a starter’s ranks.
We all blinked, and his contract will be up at the end of next season. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah could extend Pace Jr. this offseason, checking the to-do list item his list one year early as he did with Christian Darrisaw last summer.
Pace Jr., in all likelihood, will stick around for the long haul.
Approximate Extension: 4 Years | $30 Million
4. Andrew Van Ginkel (OLB)
Before the Vikings drafted Dallas Turner in Round 1 last year, they onboarded Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel from free agency.
Both men were revelations.
Van Ginkel served as a jack-of-all-trades EDGE rusher and even received fringe Defensive Player of the Year consideration. And that was in addition to reaching his first-ever Pro Bowl.
The former Dolphin currently earns $10 million per year. He’s worth double.
Approximate Extension: 2 Years | $38 Million
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.
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