Vikings Might Have a Little Holdout Problem

The Minnesota Vikings have kicked off their OTAs, or Organized Team Activities. Most players from the 90-man offseason roster were present, but some were absent, and one defender’s absence is notable, in particular.

Vikings Might Have a Little Holdout Problem

Justin Jefferson was there after skipping OTAs in the past, and J.J. McCarthy got his first on-field action since last August.

On defense, consider this nugget from the official Vikings website. Craig Peters wrote in his OTA observations: “Veteran cornerback Jeff Okudah was involved early in coverage, lining up opposite of Murphy in a 7-on-7 grouping that also included Pace and Blake Cashman at inside linebacker, Andrew Van Ginkel on the edge, and Harrison Smith and Theo Jackson at safety. (CB Isaiah Rodgers and all-arounder Joshua Metellus were not at the voluntary session). Jay Ward also logged some work in filling in for Metellus.”

No Metellus.

The safety, or Swiss Army Knife, missed OTAs. Why is that notable, considering those are voluntary? Well, Metellus is in the final year of his contract extension, and he is severely underpaid compared to his peers. The holdout — if it is one — could signal that there’s some tension between him and the franchise.

He signed a two-year contract worth $8 million in the 2023 offseason. That was a brilliant move by Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, who handed the defender a new deal right before his career took off under Brian Flores, who is fully taking advantage of his versatility.

Just a couple of weeks ago, NFL.com’s Gennaro Filice listed Metellus as Minnesota’s underappreciated player and suggested that he deserves a new deal.

“With his impressive renovation of Minnesota’s defense over the past two seasons, Brian Flores has established himself as one of the most esteemed coordinators in football today. But one of his key cogs hasn’t received the national shine he deserves. The Vikings’ second-leading tackler in each of the past two seasons, Metellus is the chess piece Flores moves all over the board. Currently in the final year of his contract, Metellus feels like a prime extension candidate, given his Swiss Army Knife role in Flores’ attacking defense.”

Thankfully, Rick Spielman didn’t rest on his laurels in 2020 after selecting Justin Jefferson. In the sixth round, he added Michigan’s defender Metellus. Unlike Jefferson, he needed some time to grow and was a reserve for three seasons.

In those three years, Metellus developed into a premier special-teams player and had some spot starts in place of Harrison Smith in 2022. His breakthrough came in 2023 when Flores entered the building.

Through five seasons, Metellus has played in 82 games with 30 starts. He has registered four interceptions, five forced fumbles, 2.5 sacks, and 283 tackles. Metellus was pretty much a full-time player in the last two seasons, playing 1,065 and 991 defensive snaps. Remarkably, he still played about half of the special-teams snaps.

In April, Metellus was asked about a new deal. He didn’t really want to talk about it, pointing to the private aspect of those conversations. Then, he noted that he would want to spend his entire career in the Twin Cities.

So what could a contract look like? Let’s set the baseline and say that $4 million per year isn’t going to cut it.

A couple of safeties make north of $20 million a year, and eight others have a deal worth at least $15 million per season, including departed safety Cam Bynum, Metellus’ dance partner, who headed to Indianapolis in this year’s free agency.

A total of 18 safeties earn at least $10 million per season. Metellus surely belongs in that group. He won’t be cheap, but he has earned every penny. An annual salary of $12-14 million is realistic.

Metellus is a unicorn, a one-of-a-kind defender who can play all over the field and do every job imaginable. He is a locker room leader and one of the most popular players on the team.

When Andrew Van Ginkel signed his new deal, ESPN’s Kevin Seifert noted that Metellus could be next: “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.”

Considering his worth for the defense and the locker room, a new deal should be ready for his signature soon. It’s a no-brainer.