Two More Vikings’ Contracts Revealed
Over the past week, the Minnesota Vikings have been nailing down free agent acquisitions to fill out their roster for 2024.
Two of those free agents who were signed by the Vikings include EDGE Jonathan Greenard and RB Aaron Jones. The new Vikings’ contracts have been fully revealed on Over the Cap as of Wednesday. Here are the full details for each of the two new Vikings.
New Vikings’ Contracts Revealed
For Jones’ one-year deal with the Vikings, it is worth a total of $7 million. However, only $3.5 million of that deal will hit the salary cap books in 2024. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, always looking for flexibility in his players’ deals, tacked on four void years from 2025-29 for Jones, with each being worth $800,000.
Essentially, if Jones doesn’t re-sign with the Vikings next offseason, they will be paying $3.2 million in dead money for the running back because of his void years. Seeing as Jones will turn 30 years old in December, it is supremely unlikely that he will play an additional four seasons with the Vikings.
Still, Jones could be a very productive back for at least one or two more seasons. The former Packer is a very efficient player out of the backfield. In fact, among all NFL running backs to record at least 1000 carries in their careers in league history, only five have averaged at least 5.0 yards per carry, per Stathead:
- Jamaal Charles
- Nick Chubb
- Jim Brown
- Barry Sanders
- Aaron Jones
Seeing as Jones has never surpassed 250 carries in a season, there may be some more tread left on his wheels than a typical 30-year-old running back. However, if the Vikings don’t get a great season out of Jones this year, they can also opt to move on for very little cost.
As for Greenard’s contract, it could go in one of two different directions very quickly. The pass rusher is set to make $76 million over the next four years, but his year one cap hit is a measly $5.74 million in 2024.
However, that rises very quickly in 2025. His cap hits from 2025-2027 are each $22.3 million, but the Vikings cannot get out of the deal and save any cap space until 2026. Greenard carries dead money totals of $38 million in 2024 and $32.2 million in 2025.
Greenard burst onto the scene in 2023 with 12.5 sacks over the course of 15 games with the Houston Texans, but prior to that, he had started just 17 games during his first three NFL seasons.
Make no mistake, there is a plenty of risk involved with this Greenard contract. If he is unable to replicate that 2023 season, this will go down as a major overpay by the Vikings. However, if he can continue to build off of last year, Greenard’s contract could look very cheap in a couple years.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Pro Football Reference.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.
