Vikings adjust contract of S Josh Metellus, send signal that a bigger move is coming

Last season, the Minnesota Vikings took a sizable risk by extending then fourth-year safety Josh Metellus to a two-year extension worth $8 million. Until that point, Metellus had made a couple of spot starts and was a star on special teams for the Vikings. Defensive coordinator Brian Flores saw a role for him and they made the investment before he could hit free agency.

In 2023, Metellus was used in a multitude of ways, so much so that NFL's Next Gen Stats didn't know how to label him when ranking him across the rest of the league. He played in 94.2% of snaps for the Vikings and thrived across the board

Vikings adjust Josh Metellus' contract

With Metellus set to become a free agent after the 2025 season, there will be questions about his future with the Vikings and if the team would want to extend him. That could certainly be coming, but not quite yet. The Vikings did add three void years to his contract according to a report from The Star Tribune's Ben Goessling .

Those three void years were added to the deal but no extra money was added. Why would the Vikings choose to add void years without moving money around? It's likely because another move is coming.

Void years are in a contract specifically to take base salary, convert it into a signing bonus and move it into future years. Metellus' 2024 salary is the veteran minimum with a slight larger one of $3.675 million in 2025 so it wouldn't happen this year. Void years can be added at any time into a contract, but an extension or modification of an extension can't be done until after one calendar year has passed.

Metellus signed the extension on September 7th, 2023 which means that nothing could be adjusted until opening weekend, which feels somewhat unlikely since the Vikings will be focusing on the New York Giants.

An extension could very well be coming for Metellus, but it looks like we will have to wait.

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