The Minnesota Vikings have had quite the offseason. They started everything by moving on from quarterback Kirk Cousins and spent a lot of money on the front seven of the defense. In April, they selected their quarterback of the future in J.J. McCarthy and continued building up the front seven with edge rusher Dallas Turner.
Things didn't end after the NFL Draft. The Vikings spent nearly $250 million to extend the contracts of wide receiver Justin Jefferson and left tackle Christian Darrisaw this offseason. Having those two players locked up is a huge factor in setting up McCarthy for future success.
The Vikings have a lot of salary cap space to work with and other extensions could be coming down the pipeline and the first player to receive one is in the secondary.
Camryn Bynum deserves a contract extension
The Vikings safety room going into 2023 was in flux. Harrison Smith felt on his last leg and Josh Metellus had received a contract extension with a limited sample size of starting play. The other safety that was expected to see a lot of playing time was Bynum.
A cornerback at the University of California, the Vikings selected Bynum in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft and announced right after the selection that he would be moving to safety. Fun fact about Bynum: he was the final draft pick from the Stefon Diggs trade.
In 2023, Bynum had a breakout season. In 1,120 snaps, he posted a Pro Football Focus grade of 73.2. His best game was against the San Francisco 49ers where he notched a game-clinching interception.
Bynum's cornerback brain and acumen help him thrive as a safety and his athleticism concerns are mitigated. The athleticism concerns haven't been there during training camp, as Bynum has had a tremendous training camp.
His strong training camp has opened eyes of many, including myself, about how important it will be to get him under contract long-term. What would an extension look like? The safety position is quite an interesting one to project out, especially with talented players like Justin Simmons being free agents.
This offseason, multiple safeties inked extensions of $10+ million per year.
- Buccaneers' Antoine Winfield: $21.025 million
- Packers' Xavier McKinney: $16.75 million
- Patriots' Kyle Duggar: $14.5 million
- Seahawks' Julian Love: $11 million
Teams are still willing to pay the right safeties big money. However, there are a lot of talented safeties still available on the open market.
- Justin Simmons
- Quandre Diggs
- Micah Hyde
- Jayron Kearse
- Adrian Phillips
- Tashaun Gipson
Would the Vikings be willing to pay Bynum with the safety market the way it is? Considering the Vikings have been prioritizing three safety sets and having a projected $95 million in salary cap space in 2025 it would be a smart decision.
Bynum finished as the 20th-ranked safety in the NFL in overall PFF grade and that number shoots to 14th when you increase the minimum snaps to 577. That would theoretically put him in the range to crack the top 10 in safety contracts.
The 10th-highest-paid safety makes an average of $12 million which would fit Bynum's ability and play. His lack of elite athleticism and explosiveness would prevent him from getting the contracts that McKinney and Winfield got this offseason. He would likely slot into the range of what Love got.
If the Vikings were to get the contract signed this offseason, it would likely be cheaper than it would be come March of 2025. Right now is the perfect time for the Vikings to get it done since they will likely be focusing on fixing the defensive line next offseason.
Prediction: 3 years, $36 million with $16 million fully guaranteed.
Related: Vikings training camp observations: J.J. McCarthy gets more reps with first team & injuries persist
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