Rumor: Vikings’ Cap to Keep Tumbling Further
At long last, the Vikings came to an agreement with safety Josh Metellus, giving the team captain a well-deserved raise.
Until the new agreement, Metellus was moving toward a final season under contract in the Twin Cities. Finding a good middle ground means that the player can keep calling Minnesota home (something he wanted) while the organization gets to keep employing the safety (something the franchise wanted). The issue simply rests within the Vikings’ cap.
The Vikings’ Cap & The Josh Metellus Extension
Earlier in the offseason, the Vikings saw something similar occur with tight end Josh Oliver.
He, too, was moving into his final season of employment. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah constructed a new deal, one that’s sitting at $23.25 million across three seasons. The brawny blocker is now in Minnesota for four more seasons, giving the Vikings the added ruggedness that they desire in their high-skill offense. His cap hit for 2025 dropped down to $4,264,000 before rising to $9,964,000 in 2026 (and then onward from there with cap hits in a similar range).
One could envision a world where Oliver’s role increases, continuing to soak up snaps as the offense looks to become tougher to play against.
Before the extension, Mr. Metellus was going to hit the Vikings’ cap with a $6,541,667 cap charge in 2025 before dropping down to $0 in 2026 (there were void years baked into his deal). No longer.
The basic details of the extension are that Josh Metellus is going to be around for three more seasons (beyond the current one, that is) for a total of $36 million. The possibility exists that the compensation climbs up to $42 million, but that remains to be seen.
All things considered, both sides step away with a nice deal. Getting an impact safety who fits perfectly within what Brian Flores wants to do for $12 million per season is a nice contract. Meanwhile, the player gets his desired raise and gets paid among the better safeties in the NFL. He was making a mere pittance — at least in the world of NFL finances — given that his previous annual average was just $4 million, a very small amount for someone who has such a large impact.
The issue that arises rests in where the cap debt for 2026 is going. Already, the Vikings are a team sitting in last place for open cap room. Or, put differently, salary cap debt since there’s no open room.
Adofo-Mensah is going to need to confront the reality of having more than $60 million in negative cap space for next offseason.
The safety’s cap charge of $0 has, by necessity, jumped up. In fact, Over the Cap recently got their hands on the details of the deal. Next season, Metellus is sitting at a $6,045,000 cap charge. Pretty modest in isolation, but enough to drag the debt down even further.
Per OTC, the Vikings are a league-worst $65,861,028 in debt for 2026. Yes, the numbers are an estimate, but we’re still talking about a budget that’s so snug the buttons are flying off.
One wonders what’s going to be needed to get things back into shape. Any chance that something happens with Brian O’Neill? Is the team able to afford the raise that’s coming for Ivan Pace? Does Ryan Kelly see the second year of his contract cut off in a cap-savings move?
Dig through the numbers and the roster and one could certainly come up with all kinds of similar speculations, scribblings, and scenarios.
The point is simply to say that extending Josh Metellus came at a cost. Yes, there’s the individual player’s contract but then there’s the broader financial context. An already bleak outlook may look even more bleak once the numbers arrive in all of their specificity.
One more thing to note. Keep an eye on where the current open room goes. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah could opt to bring in short-term help, especially during the regular season if Minnesota plays well. Worth remembering, though, that unused cap room gets carried over. Saving money in 2025 could be part of the solution to the financial pain that’s going to arrive in 2026.
The Vikings take on the Texans in their debut preseason game on Saturday.
Editor’s Note: Information from Over the Cap helped with this piece.
