Camryn Bynum – Syndication Server

PFF projects Vikings will land one of NFL’s top free agents

With the Minnesota Vikings possibly needing to replace virtually all of their defensive backfield, could they make a splash in free agency?

A lot has been made of the situation the Minnesota Vikings find themselves in with regard to the state of their defensive backfield. Minnesota didn’t always get the most consistent play from their defensive backs last season, despite the play of Pro Bowl cornerback Byron Murphy Jr.

What’s more, the Vikings are heading into the 2025 NFL offseason facing the prospect of having only do-it-all defensive back Josh Metellus under contract for next season. Minnesota is going to need to figure out a potentially completely new defensive back field next season. Thankfully, they have plenty of cap space to work with.

What the Vikings are going to do with that cap space remains to be seen, but with limited capital in the NFL Draft, they figure to be active players in the free agent market.

The team at PFF recently began releasing their look at the 2025 NFL free agent class and some potential landing spots for their top free agents, and they’ve listed Minnesota as one of their landing spots for a top-3 free agent, former Miami Dolphins safety Jevon Holland.

Holland was drafted in the second round out of Oregon by the Miami Dolphins in the 2021 NFL Draft and has been a key contributor to their secondary ever since. Holland has played all over the field in the Dolphins’ defensive scheme, coming down with five interceptions, five sacks, and over 300 tackles in his four years with the team.

However, Holland struggled in 2024 and has seemingly fallen out of favor with both the Dolphins’ coaching staff and their fans, making a return to Miami unlikely. While Holland came in as just the 89th out of 170 safeties last season according to PFF, and 109th in coverage, the Vikings may hope a reunion with defensive coordinator Brian Flores could revitalize Holland.

Holland spent his rookie season working with Flores during the latter’s final season as the Dolphins head coach. That season, Holland turned in a defensive PFF grade of 84.7 and a coverage grade of 87.7 (versus just 63.0 and 57.1, respectively, this past season).

Holland ranks as PFF’s third-best potential free agent in this class, and the Vikings likely have the money to land him if they’re looking to make a big splash in free agency. Pairing Holland with a potential return of Camryn Bynum could give the Vikings one of the best safety duos in the league for years to come.

2025 NFL Free Agency: Projected value of Camryn Bynum’s next contract

With nearly all of the Minnesota Vikings’ defensive backfield scheduled to hit free agency, should Camryn Bynum be a priority to re-sign?

The Minnesota Vikings have many difficult questions to answer this offseason before they prepare for the 2025 season. One that no one wants to think about is, “Will Camryn Bynum be back in Minnesota for 2025?”

For the past two seasons, the defense has been the lifeblood of the Minnesota Vikings. Defensive coordinator Brian Flores has completely turned the fortunes of the Vikings’ defense, which struggled mightily just a few short seasons ago. One of the things that makes the Vikings’ defense tick is the play of their safeties, Harrison Smith and Bynum.

With neither Smith nor Bynum under contract next season, the defensive backfield for Minnesota could look dramatically different in 2025. Smith may be headed towards retirement, while Bynum should be a hot commodity on the free agent market.

That begs the question: What sort of contract might Bynum be looking at on the free agent market, and should the Vikings shell out for their star safety?

Bynum is a rising star at the safety position and just turned in arguably his best season as a professional in 2024. Bynum set a new career high with three interceptions and 10 passes defensed and tied a career-high with two fumble recoveries and two tackles-for-loss.

Now, at the end of his rookie deal, Bynum is likely looking at a significant bump with his next contract. In 2024, Bynum made just over $3 million in the final year of his contract. Now, the team at Over the Cap believes the young safety could be in line for a pay bump of over $2 million. They have his current valuation sitting at just over $5.6 million.

If that is, in fact, the number that Bynum’s future team lands at, it would be a steal for the Vikings. Bynum has quickly blossomed into an integral piece in Flores’ defensive scheme and one of the better young safeties in the league. A deal for $5.6 million per year would still put Bynum around the middle of the pack at the position.

With the Vikings projected to have over $60 million in cap space, they can easily accommodate this type of deal for Bynum and have plenty left over to improve their offensive line situation. I wouldn’t be surprised if Bynum’s deal comes in higher than the projected figure from OTC, but even still, it would be worth it for the Vikings to maintain as much defensive continuity as possible.

PFF picks free agent addition Jaguars should make

Pro Football Focus selected a free agent addition that the Jaguars should make during the 2025 offseason.

Pro Football Focus recently picked one free agent signing that each NFL team should make during the 2025 offseason. So who did they choose for the Jacksonville Jaguars?

Following a four-win season, there are a few different directions that PFF could have gone here with the Jaguars.

However, they decided to address safety–a position that ESPN also called a big need for the Jaguars in 2025–by adding Minnesota’s Camryn Bynum to the Jacksonville defense.

PFF notes that with the hefty spending that the Jaguars did last offseason not providing the on-field results they wanted, there could be some “hesitation” to do the same in 2025, but with Andre Cisco set to hit free agency and the Jacksonville safety room ranking last in PFF grade, an addition has to be made.

“Bynum has been a bit worse in 2024, with a 63.0 PFF overall grade and a 59.6 PFF coverage grade, but he was excellent a year ago in both coverage and as a run defender. The 26-year-old is also more of a traditional center fielder, playing 65.2% of his career snaps with the Vikings as a true free safety.”

Bynum has spent his first four NFL seasons with the Vikings. He’s been a sound tackler throughout his career and had good ball production, with eight interceptions in four seasons along with 14 pass breakups.

Opposing quarterbacks’ passer ratings when targeting Bynum the last two seasons has been below 100.0.

His presence as a primary deep safety would allow Darnell Savage to play closer to the line of scrimmage, where he’s at his best, and hopefully help limit the big passing plays that plagued the Jaguars’ defense in 2024.

Will Stephon Gilmore play this week? Injury updates for Vikings CB

TEAMA POSITION PLAYER NAME (ex Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa) is dealing with a [BLANK] injury. Here are the latest updates.

Against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 13, the Minnesota Vikings had what was a thin cornerback group get even thinner due to injury. Veteran cornerback Stephon Gilmore suffered a hamstring injury that has him now up in the air for Sunday’s matchup against the Bears.

Stephon Gilmore injury update

#CHIvsMIN final injury report

QUESTIONABLE: Stephon Gilmore pic.twitter.com/EBq9odNxv6

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) December 14, 2024

Vikings defensive back depth chart

If Gilmore is unable to play, the Vikings are likely to lean on Fabian Moreau and undrafted free agent Dwight McGlothern to pick up his snaps. Both played in recent weeks and have made decent strides. Of course, it is hard to replace an All-Pro cornerback, but having Byron Murphy Jr. still in the lineup helps.

Also, look for Brian Flores to scheme safeties Joshua Metellus and Camryn Bynum in coverage. They have been able to find the ball and force turnovers in recent weeks, so it has been a proven and winning strategy.

Bengals urged to target underrated name in 2025 NFL free agency

Should the Bengals go after this name in free agency to fix a huge problem?

When it comes to the Cincinnati Bengals and next offseason, projections won’t stop looking for help for the struggling defense.

Safety is an understandable focal point for many projections right now. Geno Stone has struggled since signing, Vonn Bell has lost a step and Jordan Battle hasn’t been able to break onto the field often.

Over at Bleacher Report, one of the suggested fits is Camryn Bynum in free agency next offseason:

Cutting Stone and targeting Camryn Bynum with some of the cap savings could be a major move toward fixing things. Bynum is only 26 years old and has excelled in multiple defensive systems with the Vikings.

Bynum isn’t really a household name, but he is a former fourth-round pick by the Minnesota Vikings who has earned a nice role for himself and picked off eight passes with 27 passes defended over four years.

The Bengals will probably approach the safety problem from a few different angles, including the draft. But Bynum is one of those names to put on a list and know going into the offseason.

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ESPN predicts which Vikings player will see a contract extension next

ESPN discussed this week that his work and the potential for another extension for a player might be on the way.

Some, myself included, have questioned Vikings General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s work, but his work with contracts is unmatched. He does a great job finding the building blocks for a franchise and not letting them go.

What more could a fanbase ask for?

ESPN discussed this week that his work and the potential for another extension for a player might be on the way. The player for said projected extension was Camryn Bynum. The former California cornerback turned safety has had a breakout role under Brian Flores the last two seasons.

Jeremy Fowler writes, “Bynum discussed an extension in recent months but couldn’t reach an agreement. As of now, he is set to enter free agency. He’s thriving in Brian Flores’ defense, with two interceptions, five pass deflections and a fumble recovery. Making splash plays in a contract year is a way to nudge the team back to the negotiation table. . .”

Bynum coming back will be a big-time decision, but with Harrison Smith being 36 years old and Lewis Cine being gone, perhaps this makes for a no-brainer move.

Pair of Vikings listed among the league’s most underrated players

Running back Aaron Jones and safety Camryn Bynum were listed among the most underrated players in the NFL by CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin.

Despite losing their starting quarterback mid-season, the 2023 Minnesota Vikings came surprisingly close to making the playoffs. One of the major contributors to them falling short was an inability to run the ball on offense all year. Conversely, the play of their defense was one of the key factors in the Vikings even having a chance to make the playoffs at all.

The Vikings made moves in the off-season to address the lack of a running game, and it should come as no surprise that one of those additions, running back Aaron Jones, is listed by CBS Sports’ NFL analyst Cody Benjamin among the most underrated players in the league entering 2024.

Jones has a long history of being productive in the NFL, notching 1,000+ yards in three of the past five seasons, and also adds an element to the passing game out of the backfield that was missing in the Vikings offense last season. Though he’ll be 30 by the end of the season and does have an injury history, he “retains top-flight speed”, writes Benjamin.

Part of the problem with the running game last season was the lackluster blocking up front. Even if that situation doesn’t improve, Jones should be able to make more of it than any of the Vikings’ running backs last year, including Ty Chandler, who can now provide a nice change-of-pace to Jones rather than be relied upon for the bulk of the carries.

On the other hand, the Minnesota Vikings’ defense remains largely the same, and that’s a good thing. They kept Minnesota in a number of games they really had no business being in last season, and it was largely due to Minnesota’s other underrated stud: Safety Camryn Bynum.

Bynum has blossomed into the perfect safety complement to long-time stalwart Harrison Smith. As Smith reaches the twilight of his career, it’s time for Bynum to step up and take charge of the Vikings’ secondary. He’s done that with his play over the last two seasons, accounting for four interceptions and 15 passes defended.

The range that Bynum has from the safety position really opens up other defenders to play to their strengths. Smith can be more of a factor up towards the line of scrimmage. Josh Metellus can be moved all around the field and be a chess piece in defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ defensive scheme. Corners can be more aggressive and take chances, knowing they have a rangey safety covering their back.

With these two commanding presences on each side of the ball, expect the 2024 Vikings to be competitive all year long, even with an uneasy situation at quarterback. They did it last year, don’t be surprised if they do it again this year.

Is Camryn Bynum the answer to the Vikings problem at cornerback?

There has been no hiding it: the Minnesota Vikings have had some issues at the cornerback position almost two weeks through training camp.

There has been no hiding it: the Minnesota Vikings have had some issues at the cornerback position almost two weeks through training camp. Besides the devastating loss of Khyree Jackson to his family, forget about football.

There have been other events that, while they don’t compare, do keep happening within the same position group.

The season-ending injury to Mehki Blackmon, a torn ACL, was a gut punch. That was followed up by Shaq Griffin suffering a hamstring injury, and we know those injuries can linger throughout the entire season. The team has been actively signing three free-agent defensive backs, but none will likely be worthy of being opposite Byron Murphy Jr. in the pass-happy NFC North.

One solution already on the roster is college cornerback Camryn Bynum, who became an NFL safety once drafted by the Vikings.

Bynum was a middle-tier cornerback prospect in the 2021 draft class. The Vikings’ move to safety for him has proved to be a great one, as he has outplayed his draft capital and is poised to be extended by the team.

But what about moving him back to cornerback, just for the season?

His PFF coverage grades in college were favorable. He earned an average grade of 75.2, with his highest grade coming in his sophomore year when he graded out at 82.4.

The preseason is all about moving the chess pieces around and seeing what strategies work. Bynum making a move to cornerback is simple, it makes sense, and it is the band-aid solution this team needs.