Vikings Rumor: Has Ivan Pace Jr. Seen the Hourglass Flip Over?
Upon first glance, Ivan Pace Jr. is the perfect Brian Flores linebacker. The aggressive third-year defender shoots through gaps with ease, consistently making plays behind the line of scrimmage.
So, where’s the Vikings rumor?
Well, there are some limitations in the defender’s game. For starters, Mr. Pace can be beaten in coverage. He has proven to be quite a bit better coming forward instead of going backward. Blake Cashman thus gets leaned on to put in more work. Can Pace round out his abilities, proving to be dependable in all facets of football as an every-down ‘backer? If so, what does the future hold for the Cincinnati alumnus? Can the Vikings make the money work?
Vikings Rumor:
Ivan Pace and The Uncertainty of a Contract Year
Eventually, something’s gotta give, right?
The cap is in rough shape for 2026, already showing a projected deficit that’s a hair below $61 million. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is therefore going to need to make some difficult decisions to get the budget back into a good spot. Is one of those tough decisions going to involve Pace?
The linebacker is offering tremendous value since he’s operating on the final season of his UDFA deal. His $1,036,668 cap charge is bargain-bin level, the kind of number that must appear too-good-to-be-true for Adofo-Mensah, a GM who knows a thing or two about value.
Once 2025 gives way to 2026, Mr. Pace can push for a hearty extension. That’s when things could get interesting.
Cashman is the team’s top linebacker, someone who averages $7.5 million annually across his three-year deal. Part of the math for that deal is that Cashman has battled injury a bit in his career. Were it not for poor health, Cashman could likely demand more given his abilities defending the run, blitzing, and in coverage. Factor in, as well, that’s he’s the green-dot linebacker, meaning he’s a good leader, communicator, and is intelligent. Could Pace get more than Cashman?
Go ahead and look at the linebacker position more broadly. There’s no shortage of ‘backers coming in ahead of Mr. Cashman.
Leading things is Fred Warner, an absolute stud over in San Francisco. He’s averaging $21 million per season. Baltimore’s Roquan Smith isn’t too far behind at $20 million per season and then there’s four more who are sitting at $15 million per year or above. Plenty others are operating above that $7.5 million that gets attached to Cashman.
Ivan Pace Jr. didn’t get drafted, a reality that has impacted his early-career earnings. One has to assume that he’s looking for a meaty raise. What remains to be seen is whether he’ll find it in Minnesota.
Ivan Pace earned 72 tackles, 3 sacks, 7 QB hits, 7 tackles for loss, 1 interception, and 1 pass defended in 2024. He got sent on a blitz 44 times across his eleven games. Note that the prior season — a fully healthy one — involved getting sent on a blitz 74 times.
Earlier in the offseason, the Vikings picked up running back Jordan Mason from the 49ers. Doing so was cheap — just a 6th and a late-round pick swap — since Minnesota had to then give the runner a new extension. Does something similar occur with Mr. Pace? Could the RFA be moved out next offseason for a draft pick or two due to the team’s inability pay him?
If so, then the hourglass may have flipped over for Pace’s time in the Twin Cities. Put differently, the linebacker may be on a shorter timeline than a lot of people realize when it comes to his employment as a Viking.
Ivan Pace Jr. is listed as being 5’10” and 231 pounds. One wonders if he would have been drafted had he been listed at (for instance) 6’1″ and 240 pounds. The defender, after all, has a lot of ability. Even without the size hypothetical, a redo of the 2023 NFL Draft would involve Pace hearing his name called relatively early.
He’s still only 24.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
