3 Vikings Defenders Who are Moving Toward a Large Raise
Brian Flores got his side of the ball to play very well in 2024. Accordingly, some Vikings defenders are moving toward a raise.
Lately, there has been a decent bit of discussion about all of the roster’s pending free agents. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will be busy sifting through this list, determining who is a priority to retain and who can be allowed to test the open market. The GM is also going to need to address some of his players who are under contract, passing along some well-earned raises.
The Vikings Defenders Moving Toward a Large Raise
Defender #1 — Josh Metellus, Safety
Is there anything Mr. Metellus can’t do? He’s a chess piece on defense and still a key component of Matt Daniels’ special teams attack.
The 26-year-old safety is still under contract in 2025. So, there isn’t a concern that he’ll be playing elsewhere. The issue is simply that he’s wildly underpaid on his current two-year, $8 million deal. He’s coming off a season with 103 tackles, 6 QB hits, 2 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, 5 passes defended, and 1 forced fumble. He soaked up 991 snaps on defense and 210 on specials.
Extending Metellus could result in Minnesota tossing more than $4 million back into the 2024 budget.
Defender #2 — Andrew Van Ginkel, Outside Linebacker
What a stud.
The pass rusher with luscious locks is more than just a pass rusher. He can drop into coverage and he can play off-ball linebacker. The versatility makes him a perfect fit for Coach Flores, a coordinator who is well known for his creative deployment of his players.
Van Ginkel earned a second-team All Pro nod for his work in 2024. He’s also going to the Pro Bowl. The 29-year-old snagged 79 tackles, 11.5 sacks, 19 QB hits, 18 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, 6 passes defended, and 1 forced fumble. Oh, and each of those interceptions went back for a touchdown.
Extending Van Ginkel has the potential to give Minnesota more than $7.7 million in extra room for 2024.
Defender #3 — Byron Murphy Jr., Corner
Unlike Metellus and Van Ginkel, Byron Murphy is moving toward free agency if there’s no new deal.
The versatile corner can get moved into the slot or moved outside. He took his game to a new level in 2024, proving to be a reasonably strong CB1 who Minnesota can continue building around. He is, after all, still only 27 despite just finishing his sixth season in the NFL.
Murphy earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2024. He picked up 81 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 6 interceptions, 14 passes defended, and 1 forced fumble.
Due to the void years in his contract, Murphy could give the Vikings more cap room in 2025 despite the fact that he’s moving toward free agency. Murphy departing would mean that $4.2 million hits the books as dead money, but that’s a total that could lessen with a new deal.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
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, as a co-host for Notes from the North, and as the proprietor at The Vikings Gazette, a humble Vikings Substack.
