What does the Vikings’ financial future look like? Contracts, salary cap and more

EAGAN, Minn. — They tell you to stay present. To focus on the here and now, to refrain from looking too far ahead. But that’s not what we’re here to do, at least not today.

The Minnesota Vikings are 7-2. This weekend’s game against the Tennessee Titans is meaningful in the broader conversation about where the 2024 season might go. There is an even more wide-ranging look to consider, though, and it has to do with the future.

Internally, the Vikings are always thinking about what lies ahead. They’re scouting potential free agents and studying NFL Draft picks. With the calendar closing in on 2025, we thought it’d be worthwhile to look ahead.

What decisions will the Vikings face come March? What do they need? And what kind of resources will they have? Here is a full assessment of the team’s future:

Notable expiring contracts

The first thing you’ll notice about this list is its length. Come next spring, the Vikings will have loads of spots to fill.

Both starting safeties (Harrison Smith and Camryn Bynum) have uncertain futures with the team. All three starting cornerbacks (Stephon Gilmore, Shaq Griffin and Byron Murphy Jr.) do, too. If Minnesota can’t bring back Aaron Jones, it’ll be left with a depleted running back room. Interior defensive linemen, backup edge rushers, a backup quarterback and a punt returner won’t generate headlines. But those roles are integral to winning rosters. The Vikings will need to come up with answers for all of them, whether they re-sign some of these players or look elsewhere.

Bynum, Murphy, Jones and Smith will be the four most interesting free agents to follow. They have all strung together impressive seasons and have been vital to the team’s 7-2 start. The Vikings and Bynum’s representation worked on a contract extension before the season but could not come to terms on a deal. Don’t allow Bynum’s affinity for celebrations to blind you to his production, either. He is fifth on the team in tackles, second in interceptions and fourth in pass deflections. Losing him would make Smith’s decision about whether to continue playing even more relevant, especially considering safeties are the hub of communication in coordinator Brian Flores’ defense.

Murphy, meanwhile, has been arguably the Vikings’ best cornerback. Just this week, Flores praised his ball skills. Young cornerbacks Mekhi Blackmon and Dwight McGlothern might be waiting in the wings, but Murphy is more of a known quantity.

The Vikings’ success in the run game has essentially depended on Jones’ availability. Age and injury history matter in contract negotiations, but so does a player’s impact in the locker room. Jones quickly assumed a leadership role after multiple longtime Vikings left following the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

LIVE: Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores talks with the media https://t.co/PYVyWGFAFZ

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) November 12, 2024

Other contracts to watch

This subset of players felt worthwhile to include because their contracts leave some wiggle room. All five players are under contract through 2025, but their deals do not become guaranteed until the spring, meaning there is always the chance some adjustments could be made.

The most interesting names are on the offensive line. Brian O’Neill is a fixture on the offensive front and adores Minnesota, so a contract extension to reshuffle his year-over-year numbers is not out of the question. Garrett Bradbury and Blake Brandel are worthy of deeper discussions come spring.

The question is this: Should the Vikings revamp the interior of their offensive line? Or should they lean into continuity, especially with Bradbury at center, as they presumably transition to a young quarterback in J.J. McCarthy?

By most advanced statistics, the Vikings offensive line has fared admirably in 2024. Does that match the eye test? At times it hasn’t, in both the run-blocking phase and pass protection. The Vikings might peruse the free-agent market for a right guard — maybe they’ll even swing massively for impending free-agent right guard Trey Smith of the Kansas City Chiefs — which could prohibit swaps at other spots, too.

Salary-cap outlook

When you transition from a $40-million-a-year quarterback in Kirk Cousins to a $ 5-million-a-year quarterback in McCarthy, you’re going to generate a boatload of financial flexibility. The Vikings’ salary-cap space is also a testament to general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s plan, dating back to 2022, to deftly offload aging veterans on long-term contracts.

It’s also worth asking: Do any of the teams with more cap space than the Vikings — the New England Patriots, Arizona Cardinals, Las Vegas Raiders, Washington Commanders or Los Angeles Chargers — have more impactful players inked to long-term deals? The Vikings have around $68 million in space with Justin Jefferson, Christian Darrisaw and T.J. Hockenson already penciled in.

That’s an exceptional start, but the question regarding cap space remains: What are you going to do with it?

The answer begins with the players Minnesota chooses to keep, outlined in the first two sections. For the sake of this exercise, let’s say the Vikings pay Jones at running back and Bynum at safety but lose Murphy. Then, could Minnesota pony up in free agency for a veteran cornerback like D.J. Reed or Charvarius Ward? Or would it prefer to pay Murphy, draft a running back and pay a safety like Jevon Holland?

This is where the onus falls on the Vikings’ pro personnel department, headed by Sam DeLuca, and its synergy with Flores and the defensive staff. Can the front office, just like it did last year, pluck the perfect players for this system at the correct cost in free agency? Or are there players out there seeking extensions whom other teams might be willing to trade?

Both are pathways to spending the salary-cap space. Neither is foolproof. Free agency is not always the most fruitful aisle in the store. Why would teams allow elite players to exit their buildings? And as it relates to a potential trade, the Vikings desperately need their current draft capital to bear talent. Speaking of which …

Draft capital available

The main reason Dallas Turner’s selection last spring gets the attention it does is because of the draft capital Adofo-Mensah used to acquire him. The Vikings traded a bounty of picks to the Jacksonville Jaguars for him, including much of the middle of their next two drafts, at a time when they are lacking ascending young players.

In the past three seasons, the Vikings have added McCarthy, Turner, linebacker Ivan Pace Jr., receivers Jalen Nailor and Jordan Addison and kicker Will Reichard as budding players with meaningful roles. It’s not fair to compare Minnesota’s selections with other teams like the Detroit Lions and Chiefs (they picked at different points in the draft and have their own advantages that allow them to take chances), but they are two of the league’s best teams for a reason.

Just to compare, here are some of the players the Chiefs have taken in the past three drafts: Trent McDuffie, George Karlaftis III, Leo Chenal, Jaylen Watson, Isiah Pacheco and Rashee Rice. Meanwhile, the Lions have taken Aidan Hutchinson, Jameson Williams, Joshua Paschal, Kerby Joseph, Jahmyr Gibbs, Jack Campbell, Sam LaPorta, Brian Branch and Terrion Arnold.

Entering the 2025 draft, the Vikings have four obvious positional priorities: cornerback, interior defensive line, interior offensive line and running back. As The Athletic’s Dane Brugler outlined earlier this week, there are plenty of intriguing players at each of these positions at the top of this draft. An explosive interior player like Ole Miss’ Walter Nolen could make sense. An interior offensive lineman like Arizona’s Jonah Savaiinaea would fit, too.

McCarthy excelling at his cost would cover up countless holes. Even then, though, teams such as the San Francisco 49ers (on the positive side) and Cincinnati Bengals (negative) are examples of how pivotal late-round hits are, even for teams benefiting from a rookie quarterback contract.

Additional thoughts

Also looming this offseason is the question of extensions for Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell. Both will be entering their fourth seasons. And if the season continues on this trajectory, with the Vikings drastically outperforming their preseason expectations, both will be overwhelmingly deserving of new contracts.

With that comes major leverage. Before the season, the Miami Dolphins extended coach Mike McDaniel, who was hired around the same time as O’Connell. Vikings owner Mark Wilf said the team would not explore a new deal until the end of 2024. O’Connell’s job, given the constraints as well as the reverence for him around the league, is likely to require a steep price for ownership.

Then there is the question of Flores, who told ESPN’s Adam Schefter this week that he “would love” to become a head coach again. The second-year Vikings defensive coordinator was deserving of head-coaching interviews last cycle, but no request came. Flores’ lawsuit against the NFL and criticisms from Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa might have hurt his candidacy in the past, and they might ultimately be the reason Flores remains.

That would be a boon for the Vikings. Continuity is rare in the NFL, especially when teams are overachieving.

(Photo of Shaq Griffin and Byron Murphy: Katelyn Mulcahy / Getty Images)