Vikings S Josh Metellus has earned an extension, but coming to terms could prove difficult thanks to his unique skill set

The Minnesota Vikings have done two things really well under general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah:

• Sign players to contracts at a value
• Reward players who have earned more money

Edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkey is the perfect example of that. He signed a discounted two-year, $20 million contract ahead of the 2024 season. After making second-team All-Pro this past season during a career year, the Vikings rewarded him with a one-year, $23 million extension.

A Josh Metellus extension is complicated

One player that Adofo-Mensah hit a home run with is safety Josh Metellus. The Vikings signed him to a two-year extension worth up to $8 million ahead of the 2023 season. Up until that point, Metellus had only played major snaps in a reserve role. The one start he did make in 2022 ended iwth a game-ending interception.

The next two seasons saw Metellus play extensive snaps over his two years as a starter, and he performed really well. A true Swiss Army Knife, Metellus can do a little bit of everything in the back seven. His versatility was so much so that the league had difficulties placing him for Pro Bowl voting.

That is also the main reason why getting an extension done could prove difficult. How do you pay a versatile player like Metellus? 

Last season, Metellus played all over the defense. His regular season snaps were everywhere (pre-snap alignment).

When you have a player that plays everywhere like Metellus does, it makes things a little bit interesting when trying to find a dollar amount to agree upon. Do you pay him like a safety, a slot cornerback, or something in between? The two markets are significantly different.

Let's take a look at the safety market. Kerby Joseph sits at the top of the market at $21.25 million per season, whereas his former teammate Camryn Bynum is 10th on the list at $15 million. The market then takes a major dip after that, with Julian Love at 15th making $11 million, and Andre Cisco ranking 20th at the position, making $8.5 million.

Slot cornerbacks are in a different realm. The top overall cornerback is Derek Stingley Jr. at $30 million, but the top slot cornerback is Kyler Gordon at 21st overall, making $13.33 million per year. The fifth-ranked slot cornerback is Kenny Moore, making $10 million per season, and he's tied for 29th among cornerbacks.

It's a really interesting discussion point with Metellus. How do you quantify what he brings to the table? So much of his value is based on intangibles, intelligence, and versatility, three things that are hard to quantify in these contract discussions because it's very difficult to compare to other players in the league.

One player who could be a solid comparison is Pitre, who plays mostly at slot cornerback, but also lines up in the box and on the defensive line around 1/3rd of his snaps. Giving him around a $13 million/year contract would put him in a range that makes sense for what he brings to the table, and also reward a player who has outplayed his current salary.

Let's also be real, the Vikings are likely to get some value with an extension, as that's been how Adofo-Mensah has operated over the course of his tenure. With a hold-in having seemingly started, getting one done sooner rather than later is important.

There is no perfect projection due to the nature of his versatility, but the general parameters of the market give us some guidelines to work with. If anyone can get this done and make it fair for both sides, it'll be Adofo-Mensah.