Homegrown Vikings Starter Dances Over to the AFC
Camryn Bynum, a homegrown Vikings starter on defense, will be taking his top-tier dance moves to the AFC.
The NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero offers the update: “Former #Vikings safety Cam Bynum and the #Colts agreed to terms on a four-year, $60 million contract, per sources.” Josh Metellus responded to the news with a broken heart emoji, prompting a response from Pelissero: “Cam Bynum and Josh Metellus will need new dance partners.”
Homegrown Viking Camryn Bynum is Now a Colt
The divorce between Mr. Bynum and the Vikings has been easy to foresee.
Earlier, the news emerged that Theo Jackson would be coming back to Minnesota, agreeing to a deal worth roughly $12 million across three seasons. The pay raise told us everything we needed to know: Jackson was going to be leaned on to fill a starting position within Brian Flores’ defense.
Meanwhile, Bynum looked like he would be too expensive.
Camryn Bynum, a college corner, was brought to Minnesota as part of the 2021 draft class. Rick Spielman found him in the 4th, a solid pick given that he turned into a starter by his sophomore season.
Brian Flores did good things for Bynum’s game. The most recent season involved Bynum picking up 96 tackles, 2 tackle for loss, 3 interceptions, and 10 passes defended. The year before, Bynum had 137 tackles to stand alongside 2 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, and 9 passes defended.
In his career, Bynum has mostly been a deep safety. His four years have featured 2,294 snaps in the deep area of the field. The next closest alignment is in the slot, where he has snagged 579 career snaps. Otherwise, Bynum has been in the box for 497 snaps, along the d-line for 81 snaps, and at corner for 68 snaps.
Time will tell how he gets used in Indianapolis.
The Vikings came into the day with roughly $60 million in cap space, so Bynum could have been a priority to bring back. Instead, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is pursuing value at safety, a consistent approach across his time as the team’s GM.
In his career, Bynum has made a touch beyond $6 million. Getting the new contract is thus life-changing money. The contract is large enough to factor into the compensatory picks formula.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference, PFF, and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
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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 social media (Bluesky & Twitter). If you feel so inclined, subscribe to his Substack, The Vikings Gazette, for more great Vikings content.