Vikings Fire Off 3rd Contract Extension of Weekend
First, safety Theo Jackson returned to the Minnesota Vikings for at least two more years, on deck to possibly start for the purple team in 2025.
Vikings Fire Off 3rd Contract Extension of Weekend
Aaron Jones joined Jackson via contract extension in Minnesota on Sunday, and to round out the weekend, Minnesota re-upped with punter Ryan Wright.
NFL Network‘s Tom Pelissero tweeted, “Punter news: The Vikings and Ryan Wright agreed to terms on one-year, $1.75 million deal, per source. Wright, who was scheduled to be a restricted free agent, can earn up to $2M with incentives.”
On the surface, the move appears to be meaningful special teams news for the Vikings. However, such a small contract does not limit Minnesota from signing another punter — a rookie or veteran — sometime in the next couple of months for a summer roster competition.
Last year, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah added punter Seth Vernon during free agency, and a similar maneuver cannot be ruled out in 2025.
Wright ranked 23rd in the NFL during the 2024 campaign with 46.5 yards per punt. He checked in at No. 24 leaguewide in net yards per punt but eighth per inside the 20-yard-line percentage (48.2%). Put plainly, Wright is a decent punter who is worth the recent extension, though Vikings fans shouldn’t raise eyebrows if another specialist signs with the club before June.
Jackson, on the other hand, raked in a deal worth slightly over $6 million annually. He’s in line to start next season if Minnesota loses Harrison Smith to retirement or Camryn Bynum to free agency. Most onlookers interpreted the Jackson deal and financial details as an omen that Bynum would likely join a new team early next week.
And on Jones, he’ll retain his RB1 title while Minnesota presumably scours the 2025 NFL Draft class for a rookie halfback. The upcoming class is unusually deep at running back, and it might be criminal for the Vikings to consider Jones a standalone offseason RB solution, especially with Jones turning 31 in six months. Minnesota can do both: Jones + a rookie RB.
Minnesota entered last week with 26 internal free agents, so three have been crossed off the board, with the statuses of 23 remaining.
Quarterback Sam Darnold, cornerback Byron Murphy Jr., and the aforementioned Bynum, a safety, are classified as the next big-ticket items regarding in-house free agency for Minnesota.
Wright became a Viking at the dawn of the Kevin O’Connell era (2022), and if he’s nominated as the primary punter in 2025, it’ll be his fourth straight season at the helm.
He’ll turn 25 in June.
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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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