Last Hurrah? 4 Vikings Poised for Final Season with Team
We are about four months away from the start of the regular season, and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O’Connell are harboring hopes of a championship run in 2025. Five players on the Vikings roster could have their last chance to win it all in Minnesota.
Last Hurrah? 4 Vikings Poised for Final Season with Team
There are several important Vikings for whom 2025 is the last year of their current contract and face the possibility of 2025 being their last year in Minnesota should a contract extension not be forthcoming. I will look at those players, plus another with two years on his contract, and give my opinions on whether it should be their last year and what I think the Vikings will do. Here are four Vikings who could be playing their last season in Minnesota.
Harrison Smith
It seems like retirement has been looming over Harrison Smith for a while now, but it seemed a reality for a brief moment following the Vikings’ exit from the playoffs. The 36-year-old appeared to be leaning that way, but then the news dropped in March that he had signed a one-year deal and was returning for one more try at a championship run.
The Hitman has to retire at some point. Father Time is undefeated, but he was still an important part of Brian Flores’ defense last season, and I expect he will be again this year. It does feel like this will be the Hitman’s swansong, and it would be a surprise if he were still turning out in purple next year.
Aaron Jones
Aaron Jones signed a two-year, $20 million contract to return to Minnesota for a second season. Jones had a successful year with career highs in rushing attempts and yards, which persuaded the Vikings to bring him back. The way his contract is structured -including money pushed back from his first contract – Jones has a salary cap this season of $8.4 million. That will be money well spent if he can match his production from last season.
However, in 2026, Minnesota is on the hook for $14 million against the salary cap. That is a lot of money for a running back who will turn 32 during that season, with the potential to save just over half of that money if they release Jones next year. This has the look of a one-year contract stretched out into two to me.
Josh Oliver
Josh Oliver has been a solid TE2 for the Vikings, a willing and excellent blocker capable enough in the passing game to be used semi-regularly. However, he’s not dynamic enough to fill in effectively for TJ Hockenson, as was proved during Hockenson’s lengthy layoff with a knee injury. Oliver’s $7 million a year contract raised a few eyebrows for being expensive back in 2023, and I’m not sure I’d want to be equalling that on a second contract.
Minnesota drafted Gavin Bartholomew in the sixth round and also signed undrafted free agents Ben Yurosek and Bryson Nesbit, whom they will look to develop this season. Oliver is good at his job, but as a free agent next year, the cost of keeping him will factor into the decision-making. This is one that I can see going either way.
Josh Metellus
The Swiss Army knife of the Vikings’ defense and one of the team’s leaders, I would expect Minnesota to want to keep Josh Metellus on the roster for the foreseeable future. A surprise early extension in 2023 proved a wise move as Metellus became a key component of the Flores defense.
Another extension will cost the Vikings more than the $8 million for two years that the last one cost, but with Smith potentially retiring next year, the Vikings would suddenly be very short at safety if they didn’t have Metellus on the roster as well.
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