Expect the Vikings to extend Stefon Diggs before the 2018 regular season

Signs seem to point to the Minnesota Vikings extending the contract of their young receiver and it will most likely happen before Week 1 of the 2018 season.

After he was on the receiving end of a pass that gave the Minnesota Vikings a miraculous playoff win over the New Orleans Saints last season, Stefon Diggs saw his popularity skyrocket among casual football fans.

But for those who have been paying close attention to Diggs’ career since he joined the Vikings in 2015, his miracle catch was not that surprising. The young receiver has been making play after play during his three seasons with Minnesota.

Of the 34 wide receivers taken in the 2015 NFL Draft, only Amari Cooper of the Oakland Raiders has more career catches than Diggs so far.

Despite his numbers being slightly lower than they were in 2016, the Vikings pass-catcher still managed to haul in 64 passes for 849 yards and eight touchdowns last season. Diggs has caught more touchdowns (15) than any other Minnesota wide receiver since 2015.

With all of this being said, it’s not hard to figure out why the Vikings want to extend the receiver’s current contract before he has a chance to become a free-agent in 2019.

A recent report by the Star Tribune’s Chip Scoggins stated that Minnesota, “is hoping to sign,” Diggs to a, “lucrative,” deal. For anyone worried about the Vikings letting the receiver hit free agency in 2019, this report should cool down some of those thoughts.

Minnesota Vikings

It sounds like Minnesota really wants to give Diggs an extension and now it’s just a matter of when it will actually happen. If the Vikings and their receiver are able to come to an agreement on a new deal, expect it to be signed before the start of the 2018 regular season.

Since Mike Zimmer was hired to be the team’s head coach in 2014, Minnesota has extended the contracts of 14 different players. Of these 14 deals, all of them were signed before the first game of the regular season.

Interestingly enough, the four extensions the Vikings gave out prior to Zimmer being hired were actually signed during the regular season.

It is pretty clear that Minnesota’s current head coach does not want any contract situations to become a distraction during the games that actually matter and the team’s front office has complied with his request.

Next: Who will be next to get an extension from the Vikings?

Zimmer has always emphasized the focus of the Vikings to stay on the actual field and less on everything that goes on off of it. Which is why Minnesota and Diggs agreeing to an extension (which many believe will happen) should be expected to go down before the team’s first game of the 2018 regular season.