Almost Quietly, Vikings Confirm Some Really Positive News
Maybe the most concerning part of preparing for the upcoming season is the threat of injury. The issue has come up several times in Minnesota: Example #1, Example #2, & Example #3 (just to name a few).
Almost quietly, the Vikings confirmed some good news for a different injury situation involving safety Josh Metellus. The team captain who can basically play every defensive position — which is to say nothing of what he does on specials — went down in the joint practices with the Patriots. The initial educated guess was that he avoided a major injury, but that’s now been confirmed.
Vikings Confirm Josh Metellus is Doing Well
Right off the top, the update that arrived courtesy of Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell.
While chatting with the Minnesota media, O’Connell was asked to clarify where Mr. Metellus finds himself: “He’s kind of in the same boat at Justin [Jefferson] today. He’ll be, yeah, we avoided anything long-term with him. So much so that he’ll work back in today.” O’Connell then clarifies that there’s some “soreness” but that Metellus is moving toward “a good spot.”
At this stage, Metellus has solidified himself as a player who can’t be replaced for the Vikings (certainly not in late August).
The 27-year-old defender was extended a few weeks ago, agreeing to a contract for three more years and $36 million in promised compensation. He has been a mainstay within the Brian Flores defense, getting elevated from being a strong option on special teams to a strong option on defense, as well.
Flores moves Metellus all over the place, a queen on the chess board who can move in basically every direction.
Last season, Metellus was most commonly tasked with being a linebacker or a slot corner. He was in the box for 512 snaps and in the slot for 330 snaps. But then there was the task of being a free safety — something he did for 90 snaps — alongside playing along the defensive line — something he did for 63 snaps. Finally, there were the 33 snaps as a corner.
Combined with a revamped defensive line, Metellus is getting leaned on to help Flores’ defense maintain its attacking mindset. Some of that is going to involve being a blitzer. In 2023, the safety blitzed 91 times; in 2024, the safety blitzed 56 times.
But then there’s just the run-of-the-mill task of flying forward to stop a runner in his tracks before gobbling up yards. Metellus must also be a physical, tough player in coverage. Get his mitts onto a tight end to disrupt a play’s timing; wallop a wide receiver with a clean, legal hit to knock the ball loose.
Josh Metellus is tasked with doing those things on a weekly basis.
Metellus, 27, first joined the Vikings back in the 2020 NFL Draft. Justin Jefferson (very reasonably) gets most of the attention from that event, but picking up Metellus at No. 205 was a nice bit of business from Rick Spielman.
At minimum, Metellus is a very good player who fits perfectly within the Vikings’ defense. At best, Metellus could keep developing, pushing his game to a point where’s he’s recognized as one of football’s foremost defenders.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference, PFF, and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
