Vikings Are Already Working on the Next Contract Extension
Earlier on Tuesday, the Minnesota Vikings rewarded one of their top players by giving him a pay raise and a contract extension for another season. Andrew Van Ginkel, the standout pass rusher, is now under contract for two more seasons and scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in 2027.
Vikings Are Already Working on the Next Contract Extension
It was a well-deserved deal, as he has already outplayed his two-year, $20 million contract in his first season in purple. This year, he will make the second half of that money, and $23 million will hit his bank account next year.
Another guy who has earned a raise is Joshua Metellus, the Swiss Army Knife safety who can play all over the field and is a key in Brian Flores’ defense because of his versatility and all-around skill set that allows him to stop the run and cover.
Just like Van Ginkel prior to his extension, Metellus is slated to become a free agent next offseason.
At least for now. The Vikings are reportedly in talks to get a contract extension done sooner rather than later. He is represented by Drew Rosenhaus, just like Van Ginkel.
ESPN’s Kevin Seifert noted when he broke the news of Van Ginkel’s extension: “Van Ginkel is one of several Vikings veterans who has been in negotiations for a contract extension this offseason, Another is safety Josh Metellus, whose contract is set to expire after the 2025 season. He and Van Ginkel are represented by the same agents.”
Metellus has long outplayed the contract extension he signed in the 2023 offseason. That deal was a Kwesi Adofo-Mensah special. He extended the defender’s contract before he had ever made a huge impact on defense.
The special-teams ace stepped into a much bigger role when Flores arrived in 2023, and that’s when Adofo-Mensah saw the value and got a deal done ahead of the season. Now, after taking advantage of that for two seasons, it’s time to pay the player what he’s worth, or at least to tack on some guaranteed money (like Van Ginkel’s but with an additional year or two) at the end of his current deal.
Metellus was a 2020 sixth-rounder out of Michigan. He showed enough promise early in his career to earn the trust of his coaching staff, playing in 15 games as a rookie and 16 in year two. Most of his snaps came on special teams, where he became one of the best third-phase players in the league.
In his third season under Ed Donatell, his role on defense grew as he was the primary backup for Harrison Smith ahead of first-rounder Lewis Cine, replacing the veteran when he was injured. After playing roughly 300 defensive snaps in three seasons, he logged 1,065 in his first season with Flores calling the shots in 2023 and 991 in 2024. In addition to that workload, he is still taking about 200 special-teams snaps per season.
Through five seasons, he has played in 82 games (30 starts), recording 283 tackles, four interceptions, five forced fumbles, and 2.5 sacks.
The man deserves his payday, and it could happen soon. Metellus is 27 years old.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.