Vikings WR2 Jordan Addison and the New Contract Decision
WR2 Jordan Addison is a fantastic football player. Far from the game’s most rugged player, Mr. Addison is among the most elusive. Does it make sense to extend his contract?
Of course, the recent news has discussed Minnesota picking up his 5th-year option. Doing so was an easy call for a football team lacking in high-end, young talent, especially since promising receivers can be so expensive. But then there’s another possibility: getting ahead of the finances by extending him now. He’s eligible for a long-term deal now that he is through his third NFL season.
Jordan Addison & The Extension Possibility
The basic numbers are good but not elite. Consider the easy statistics that all football fans see with the receiver:
- 2023: 70 Catches | 911 Yards | 10 Touchdowns
- 2024: 63 Catches | 875 Yards | 9 Touchdowns
- 2025: 42 Catches | 610 Yards | 3 Touchdowns
Some basic ideas shine through. Scoring so commonly is a nice detail. Not everyone does so well at bringing the pigskin into the endzone. Justin Jefferson is great, but he’s never been a true assassin when it comes to scoring. Addison does more with less; put differently, Addison gets a lesser workload and scores quite a lot.
So, too, is he an explosive option. His yards-per-catch average sits at a very healthy 13.7 yards across his career. Not too shabby.
Consider those numbers alongside the passers who did work for the Minnesota Vikings over the past three seasons:
- 2023: Kirk Cousins, Nick Mullens, Jaren Hall, & Josh Dobbs
- 2024: Sam Darnold & Nick Mullens
- 2025: J.J. McCarthy, Carson Wentz, & Max Brosmer
Noting the passers, if only in the most basic sense, helps to contextualize what Addison has done.
As the WR2 in Minnesota, Jordan Addison has worked with a good quarterback in Cousins for part of 2023. He then had the benefit of working with a very good quarterback in Darnold for the overwhelming majority of 2024 (Mullens was in there for just a handful of plays).
Otherwise, Addison has been catching the ball from a 5th-Round rookie (Hall) and an undrafted rookie (Brosmer). There has been veteran journeyman passers (Wentz, Dobbs, and Mullens) alongside an underperforming young fella (McCarthy).
The point: playing with Joe Burrow, Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen and/or other high-end passers would lead to a different cluster of statistics. Surpassing 1,000 yards likely happens if Addison was finding work in a place like Kansas City or Buffalo.
At times, Jordan Addison has been his own worst enemy. That has been evident in his off-field issues. He has been forced to fend off awkward questions with the media, work through a suspension, and he has been benched. There has also been wider chatter about being traded alongside some doubt about the Vikings picking up that 5th-year option.
In reality, Jordan Addison isn’t a bad guy. He has made mistakes and has had to face the consequences. A perfect world means he is growing and learning, leading to a future where these mistakes don’t get made again. Jordan Addison, 24, is a dangerous weapon within the Vikings’ offense. Continuing to work with him is the way to go.
Quite possibly, there’s some merit in extending him. His price will never be lower, at least if the criteria is football performance alone. Indeed, seeing him stay out of trouble will mean exploding statistically due to the presence of Kyler Murray and/or a much-improved J.J. McCarthy. Even a totally healthy Carson Wentz would lead to nice production.
Football is a sport that’s always focused on the future. Seeing a future where Addison is about to explode means that getting ahead of his financial demands is the way to go.
