As June Slips Away, the Vikings’ Top Draft Picks Remain Unsigned
The 2024 NFL Draft was a tremendously exciting event for the Vikings, largely due to the arrival of the Vikings’ top picks. In the opening round, Minnesota scooped up QB J.J. McCarthy at No. 10 and EDGE Dallas Turner at No. 17.
On Thursday, April 25th, those two became Vikings. The issue as of Tuesday, June 25th is that they’re yet to sign their rookie deals. Is that any cause for concern? At what point should fans be concerned about what’s taking place?
The Vikings’ Top Draft Picks Remain Unsigned
The Justin Jefferson extension assuages many concerns in Minnesota.
The Vikings’ clear-cut best player is now under contract for five more seasons, syncing up perfectly with the incoming 1st-Round talent. McCarthy, in particular, is important since the QB-WR combo will be critical if the Vikings ever want to overcome the Super Bowl curse. Kirk Cousins had a good thing going with Mr. Jefferson, so McCarthy has some good size shoes to fill.
Is there any sense that the Jefferson extension pushed the McCathy and Turner deals to the back burner? Kwesi Adofo-Mensah tends to be more patient than outsider observers, so it’s possible he understood what was more pressing.
Nevertheless, it’s notable that things haven’t gotten done yet.
On the NFL website, there’s a tracker for the 2024 NFL Draft and 1st-Round picks being signed. Almost everyone has put pen to paper at this point since we’re two months away from the opening round. Notably, Chicago hasn’t gotten QB Caleb Williams and WR Rome Odunze under contract yet. Otherwise, Cincinnati is still working on OT Amarius Mims.
Add it all together and there are five players from the opening round who haven’t signed their deals. Two of them are calling Minnesota home.
Jump to Over the Cap and there’s just placeholder numbers at the bottom for J.J. McCathy and Dallas Turner. Go over to Spotrac and the pair are listed at the bottom without any contract details.
Minnesota’s website released the news about the other five draft picks being signed back on May 28th. Craig Peters offered this thought at the end: “J.J. McCarthy, who at the No. 10 spot became the highest-drafted QB in Vikings history, and fellow first-round selection Dallas Turner (selected at No. 17) have not yet signed.”
Almost a month later and we’re still waiting.
At this stage, there isn’t much reason for concern. Both players have been participating in the offseason for the Vikings, even jumping into the press conferences. There’s no panic emanating from TCO Performance Center even if there’s some sort of hang up.
Realistically, the issue is likely relatively minor and one that will get sorted out before training camp arrives. If, however, this stretches into training camp, then there could be some reason for concern.
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K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and as a co-host for Notes from the North, a humble Vikings podcast.