Category: Contracts

Vikings’ Pat Jones II is setting himself up for massive payday in 2025

If the Vikings decide they cannot afford him, edge rusher Pat Jones II has earned himself a massive payday somewhere in 2025.

The Vikings’ defense has played a major role in their success in 2024. Brian Flores’s schemes for packages and pressure have him being considered for a head coaching job in 2025, but he isn’t the only one who may get a chance elsewhere.

If the Vikings decide they cannot afford him, edge rusher Pat Jones II has earned himself a massive payday somewhere in 2025.

The Vikings pass rusher has taken his time developing, but he is in his fourth year in the NFL. Entering this year, he had just five sacks in his career, but through ten games in 2024, he has seven. He has a chance to add to that total with seven games left on the schedule, and that is where he can parlay it into a bigger contract.

With the draft of Dallas Turner, the team isn’t likely to want to pay him that much or for the long term. Instead, his potential departure just means that Dallas Turner should see a jump in performance in 2025.

Jaguars to pay $7 million of Cam Robinson’s remaining contract in trade deal

The Jacksonville Jaguars are on the hook for $7 million of Cam Robinson’s remaining contract after their trade with the Minnesota Vikings.

Earlier this week, the Minnesota Vikings addressed a glaring need on the team by filling the void left by injured left tackle Christian Darrisaw. Darrisaw was lost for the season with a torn ACL and MCL suffered at the end of the first half of last week’s game against the Los Angeles Rams.

The Vikings’ solution to their sudden need for an offensive lineman was to reach out the the Jacksonville Jaguars and pull off a trade for their left tackle Cam Robinson. Robinson had spent the past seven and a half seasons in Jacksonville after the team took him in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft.

Despite sticking around in Jacksonville for over seven years, it hasn’t been a smooth ride for the tackle, and he’s looking to get a fresh start with the Vikings. In order to facilitate that new start, it was revealed on Wednesday that the Jaguars will be paying $7 million of the nearly $10 million remaining on Robinson’s contract, according to ESPN NFL analyst Field Yates.

That means the Vikings will only be on the hook for a base salary of $2 million and a bonus of nearly $59,000 for each game Robinson is active for the Vikings for the remainder of the season. While Robinson may not be active on Sunday as he gets acclimated to his new team and the new system, he’ll likely be active for the remainder of the season—as long as he stays healthy and produces.

The Vikings have other options along the offensive line, and head coach Kevin O’Connell has hammered home the idea of putting together the “five best offensive linemen”, so if Robinson doesn’t pan out, it wouldn’t be a shock to see O’Connell shake things up. Current left guard Blake Brandel has experience at tackle, and guard Dalton Risner is expected back, which could lead to Brandel shifting outside if Robinson can’t go or struggles.

Regardless of how well the trade winds up working out for Robinson and the Vikings, only giving up a Day 3 pick in 2026 and getting the Jaguars to pay the majority of Robinson’s remaining salary is worth taking a chance in light of Darrisaw’s injury.

Vikings extend DL Harrison Phillips with a two-year deal

Phillips is being rewarded in the form of job and financial security as the team has signed him to a two-year extension.

The Minnesota Vikings entered the 2024 season with some questions about their defensive line, and on Sunday, Harrison Phillips reminded everyone he had things covered.

As a result of what he did, plus his work last year with the team, Phillips is being rewarded. That reward is coming in the form of job and financial security as the team has signed him to a two-year extension worth up to $19 million.

Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reported that the deal includes a guaranteed amount of $13 million.

Phillips came to the Vikings in 2022, signing a three-year deal after playing for the Buffalo Bills. This deal now extends his tenure with the team through the 2026 season.

He has emerged as a leader on defense, both on and off the field. His teammates have voted him captain and honored him as the team’s representative as their Walter Payton Man of the Year.

His captaincy should continue to thrive while he mans the middle of Brian Flores’ defense. Both Flores and Phillips have proven to be a dream pairing, and they hope it is a relationship that will continue to be two-way for years to come.

Division rival Packers extend QB Jordan Love, NFC North locked in at QB

The Packers extended Jordan Love to a new contract on Saturday afternoon locking up the quarterback position for the NFC North.

The NFC North has joined its AFC counterpart by having the quarterback position locked up. The Packers finished things off when they extended Jordan Love to a new contract on Saturday afternoon.

The contract has a total value of $220 million for the next four years. Love joins Jared Goff who also saw an extension earlier this offseason for a value of $212 million. Those two, paired with Caleb Williams of the Chicago Bears and J.J. McCarthy of the Minnesota Vikings have set the table for the position within the NFC North for the foreseeable future.

All quarterbacks are under contract for at least the next four years, meaning teams will know who they will face within that time period within the division.

For the Vikings, this has to be a clear directive to figure out the cornerback position sooner rather than later. Byron Murphy Jr. has proved to be a viable option, but the team’s depth and the lack of a lockdown player at the position leave them vulnerable.

Despite Darrisaw’s new contract, Vikings have plenty of cap room in 2025

The Vikings have done well paying players with contracts that allow flexibility, look no further than the extension of Christian Darrisaw.

The salary cap is the boogeyman of the NFL world, it is only real if you make it real. The Minnesota Vikings have done a tremendous job paying players with contracts that allow the boogeyman to remain away at all times.

Look no further than the latest contract extension of Christian Darrisaw.

The team extended Darrisaw on Wednesday to a contract worth up to $113 million over four years. The deal is being tacked onto the end of his rookie contract which will allow the team to remain flexible in the salary cap next offseason.

They spent some money this year, shelling out over $130 million in contracts to their free-agent signings. Not to mention the $253 million they gave between Justin Jefferson and Darrisaw to extend them. Despite all of that, the team is expected to have somewhere in the neighborhood of $75 million to spend on free agent salaries in 2025.

According to Spotrac, that is good for the fifth-most cap space in the NFL.

The defense is expected to be the focus in terms any overhauls in the next offseason as the offense proved to be the focus this year. The secondary and defensive line have some big names in free agency the team may be able to pull away from rivals and future opponents.

Time will tell but it appear General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has set himself up nicely for the next offseason.

Vikings sign OT Christian Darrisaw to a contract extension worth $113 million

Christian Darrisaw is in it for the long haul in Minnesota as he and the team agreed to a contract extension on Tuesday worth $113 million.

One of the best offensive tackles in the NFL is in it for the long haul in Minnesota, as the team and Christian Darrisaw agreed to terms on a contract extension on Tuesday.

The contract is a four-year extension worth up to $113 million with $77 million guaranteed. This extension is on top of Darrisaw’s rookie deal, meaning he will be under contract with the team through 2029.

Darrisaw has started 39 out of 41 games played for the team since being drafted 23rd overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. He was the fourth offensive tackle taken behind Penei Sewell of the Lions, Rashawn Slater of the Chargers, and Alex Leatherwood of the Raiders.

Sewell agreed to a contract extension with the team this offseason that guaranteed him $85 million. Slater has not agreed to an extension but had his fifth-year option picked up by the team, while the Raiders have since cut Alex Leatherwood.

The Vikings were expected to work with Darrisaw on an extension next offseason after preliminary talks started this year. Things picked up steam, and now Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has locked up both his offensive cornerstone for the hopeful franchise quarterback J.J. McCarthy.

Vikings, J.J. McCarthy agree to terms on fully guaranteed rookie contract

The Minnesota Vikings have agreed to terms with J.J. McCarthy, their top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

The Minnesota Vikings have agreed to terms with J.J. McCarthy, their top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. It is a fully guaranteed contract worth $21.85 million, including a $12.71 million signing bonus.

The talks between the two had been up and down but never got into any sort of bad blood or negative space. McCarthy has been active in the community, and the team has sung his praises all offseason.

With his contract finalized, McCarthy will report to training camp with the other rookies from the 2024 draft class on July 21. He is expected to compete with veteran Sam Darnold for the starting job.

However, fellow first-round pick Dallas Turner has yet to sign his rookie deal. Turner and Amarius Mims of the Bengals are the last two unsigned first-round picks.

Christian Darrisaw contract negotiations may start to pickup steam

The Minnesota Vikings locked down one star on offense, now they turn their focus to another with a crucial 2024 season ahead of him.

The Minnesota Vikings locked down one star on offense, and now they turn their focus to another with a crucial 2024 season ahead of him. This front office made Justin Jefferson the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. While they will need to make an impressive offer, it will unlikely be a position-altering one.

Of course, the player in question is none other than former first-round pick Christian Darrisaw.

The offensive tackle has proven he is worthy of being one of the top-paid players at his position. However, according to Darren Wolfson, during an appearance on Skor North, there is one major caveat to that becoming a reality with one other factor potentially helping matters.

Wolfson hinted that the team has “reservations about paying that much to a player long-term if they feel that the injury history has become a genuine concern.” Wolfson explained that the deal is expected to be done now that he has changed agents for the second time through this process. Currently his agent is listed as Drew Rosenhaus who has a good relationship with the franchise after negatiating Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel’s contracts this offseason.

Darren Wolfson was quick to mention that despite what may come of these talks, there isn’t likely to be a deal done this training camp but the cornerstone left tackle is “apart of the Vikings plans.”

In three full seasons with the Vikings, Darrisaw has yet to play a full season and has played in 41 out of 52 potential games in his career. The former Virginia Tech tackle would put the Vikings in a tough but good position if he were to play a full season in 2024.

Without a full-season, things could get dicey in the Vikings front office in terms of the money within any offered deals. It is important to note, Darrisaw is under contract through the 2025 season after the team picked up his fifth-year option.

Bleacher Report says Christian Darrisaw extension is most important for Vikings

The Jefferson extension was a major hurdle for the Vikings franchise, now it is time to focus on the next one for another franchise pillar.

The Justin Jefferson extension was a major hurdle for the Vikings franchise, now it is time to focus on the next one for another franchise pillar. It is one thing to draft great players if you are a front office, it is another to be able to retain them.

For Christian Darrisaw, all signs point to him not only deserving of an extension but also making it a priority to get one done.

In a recent article for Bleacher Report, Ryan Fowler discussed which team’s most important player should be extended next. Christian Darrisaw was the obvious answer, and he agreed. What, again, is the interesting discussion around Darrisaw is the money for his extension.

“Darrisaw’s likely average per year will land near $28 million. But, with Penei Sewell’s recent deal and the expected extension to come with Tristan Wirfs (Tampa Bay), Minnesota would present themselves with leverage monetarily if they are able to get a deal done sooner rather than later.”

That Tristan Wirfs detail is most important because the Vikings did this to the Cowboys and 49ers. They extended Justin Jefferson before they could extend Brandon Aiyuk and CeeDee Lamb. Had they extended their players before Jefferson, who knows what the situation would’ve turned into.

Thankfully, the Darrisaw deal seems like a foregone conclusion, like Jefferson, but that doesn’t change the fact the Vikings are better to get a deal done as soon as possible.

Health will determine Christian Darrisaw’s extension with Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings and their front office have been on a roll this offseason in getting contracts done, Christian Darrisaw is next.

The Minnesota Vikings and their front office have been on a roll this offseason in getting contracts done for various players within and outside the franchise. The latest was star wide receiver Justin Jefferson but the next one could be another franchise staple, Christian Darrisaw.

The cornerstone left tackle was drafted in the first round out of Virginia Tech in the 2021 NFL Draft. He has proven to be one of the best players at his position when healthy.

According to Charley Walters of the Twin Cities Pioneer Press, that last point is the key to his contract.

Walters wrote this past week that the Vikings do want to extend Darrisaw, but they want to see if he can play for a whole season, something he has not done yet. While the team isn’t likely to let him go, they aren’t wrong for holding off to see how healthy he can be.

The team will likely give him a deal near the top of the tackle market. It isn’t common to invest and tie that much money up in a player with Darrisaw’s injury history.

The fact they still want to do a deal proves how special they see Christian Darrisaw to be.