Young Vikings Safety Gets a Raise after a Stellar 2023 Season
Vikings safety Camryn Bynum put together a fantastic season in 2023, playing alongside Josh Metellus and Harrison Smith in the secondary.
As a result, Bynum is set to see a well-deserved pay raise in 2024. The raise isn’t necessarily because of a new contract offered by the Vikings, but instead, it is a result of the proven performance escalator, which essentially ensures that NFL players see compensation that they deserve after fantastic seasons.
Vikings Safety Gets a Raise
Credit to Sean Borman of Vikings Territory for pointing this out. He tweeted, “Vikings safety Camryn Bynum’s 2024 base salary increased from $1,055,000 to $3,116,000 by way of the proven performance escalator.”
In an NFL market that is seeing dwindling returns for safeties across the league, this is great news for Bynum as he heads into the fourth and final season of his rookie contract. So far this offseason, safeties have been getting a similar treatment to what we saw with running backs last year. Over $100 million in contracts for safeties have been cut so far this spring, which is by far the most for any position in the NFL.
Bynum was selected by the Vikings in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft out of the University of California. After playing much of his collegiate career at the cornerback spot, Minnesota opted to transition him to the safety spot. He largely spent his rookie season with the special teams, but he made three starts on defense, recording a sack, three passes defended, and an interception.
After the Vikings parted ways with Xavier Woods following that 2021 season, it offered Bynum a chance to step into a full-time starting role in 2022. Bynum played every single snap with the defense during that season, but he struggled in coverage. Among all 75 safeties to play at least 500 snaps in 2022, Bynum’s PFF grade of ranked 58th.
However, Bynum turned into one of the better safeties in the entire NFL under new defensive coordinator Brian Flores. He was PFF’s 11th-highest graded safety among 78 players at the position with a minimum of 500 snaps. He proved to be much better in pass coverage and remained a strong presence in run defense as well.
Heading into the 2024 offseason, the Vikings have to make a big decision regarding Harrison Smith. The veteran turned 35 years old back in February, and there are questions of whether or not he’ll be able to play at an elite level moving forward after taking a slight step back in 2023. He is also due a $19.2 million cap hit this year, which could impact Minnesota’s decision to keep him around.
Regardless, Bynum is going to play a massive role in Minnesota’s defensive scheme again in 2024, and he is getting a much better payday as a result.
Bynum will turn 26 years old in July.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Pro Football Focus and 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.
