After extending the contract of defensive end Danielle Hunter, the Minnesota Vikings must now figure which player is next in line for an extension.
On Wednesday, the Minnesota Vikings and Danielle Hunter agreed to a five-year contract extension reportedly worth $72 million with $40 million guaranteed, including a $15 million signing bonus.
This signing echoes the philosophy behind the big, five-year contract extension for Everson Griffen worth $42.5 million back in 2014. Both contracts were offered and signed while each player had optimistic question marks surrounding them as they headed into the first season of their new contract.
How will Griffen fair in his first year as a starter? Will he put up respectable production taking over for Jared Allen?
Can Hunter take that next leap in his second year as a starter and return to his 2016 form?
Griffen certainly delivered on the faith that Vikings general manager Rick Spielman had shown in him and the future is certainly looking bright for Hunter.
Now with the recent extensions of Hunter and Eric Kendricks, the three remaining key players heading into contract seasons are Anthony Barr, Stefon Diggs, and Trae Waynes.
With a plethora of talented and expensive players currently on the roster (including the $84 million guaranteed man, Kirk Cousins) the Vikings have a good problem, nevertheless a problem, in figuring out if it’s possible to maintain all three of the aforementioned players.
Minnesota must now figure out what each of these three pending free-agents may potentially command in the open market all while considering cap needed for rotational depth, future draft picks, and other roster necessities.
Of Barr, Diggs, and Waynes, whose contract should the Vikings extend next?
Trae Waynes:
Waynes, while certainly not without his faults, has steadily improved as a player under head coach Mike Zimmer. In the second half of last season, he proved to be a reliable piece of the Vikings’ defense, even drawing praise from Zimmer, despite being the fifth-most targeted cornerback in the NFL last year.
The job that Waynes is asked to do is quite the challenge as often times quarterbacks target him more throughout the course of a game largely to avoid giving Xavier Rhodes opportunities to make plays. And while there are still areas of pass coverage where Waynes can still grow, he has been outstanding against the run.
A team can never have enough productive corners in the secondary. Obviously, Minnesota has an All-Pro corner in Rhodes and there’s also a lot of promise for rookie cornerback Mike Hughes, who could very well turn out to be great one day.
After that, the Vikings cannot expect Terrance Newman to remain on the team much longer as he will be playing in his 16th season in 2018 and turning 40-years-old in September. So Minnesota’s third corner on their depth chart this year is maybe Mackensie Alexander?
If the Vikings believe that Waynes can continue to improve and get better, it makes sense to sign him to an extension next (as long as the price is right of course).
Stefon Diggs:
The Vikings have arguably the best receiving duo in the league. What Diggs brings to the table is phenomenal route running, explosive speed, quickness, acceleration, and most importantly he has great hands.
Minnesota having the pass-catching duo of Diggs and Adam Thielen presents a multitude of problems for opposing secondaries. Defenses are more inclined to play honest against these two instead of doubling one receiver thanks to the fear of the other being capable of exploiting lighter coverage.
Diggs has proven to be one of the best receivers in the league by producing mightily throughout his young career. He has been able to perform at an impressive level despite having played for three different quarterbacks, with Kirk Cousins soon to be the fourth.
With the recent big contracts being given to wideouts around the NFL, including Mike Evans getting $55 million guaranteed and Sammy Watkins signing a deal with $30 million guaranteed, Diggs may be prove to be the most challenging extension for the Vikings to complete.
Luckily with Hunter and Kendricks signed, Minnesota can use the franchise tag on Diggs if necessary, which would buy more time in negotiations and ensures he remains on the team for 2019.
Retaining this receiving duo is imperative to giving Cousins the best opportunity to make plays on the field and give Minnesota more chances to win games.
Anthony Barr:
Barr may potentially be the odd man out in this scenario. While he certainly has the talent of an All-Pro, he’s had problems with consistency on the field.
Since his rookie season, Barr hasn’t quite been the same player. His 2015 season was good but not quite up to par with his dominance shown in 2014.
In 2016 his effort was brought into question by Mike Zimmer. And despite having a great first half of the season in 2017, the second half he reverted back his old disappearing habits.
Barr is at his best when he’s seemingly making an impact on a play-by-play basis.
Minnesota Vikings
If he’s not sacking the quarterback, he can rush the quarterback into forced throws. If he’s not tallying up tackles for losses, he can blow up running lanes and make it easier for his teammates to get to those tackles for a loss.
One could make the argument that when he’s at his best, Barr has shown the ability to pop out on the TV screen snap after snap to the likes of Ed Reed and Von Miller.
Unfortunately, besides the inconsistency issues, the Vikings also have a player in the linebacker where if he’s not on the roster, the team still has one of the best defenses in the NFL.
Compare that to the massive drop in offensive production if Minnesota were to let Diggs walk or the easy target that would be presented to opposing offenses with Mackensie Alexander or any other question mark at the third corner position assuming Waynes signs elsewhere and Newman retires.
Next: The 30 greatest Vikings players of all-time
Barr suddenly becomes the most replaceable of the remaining players in contract years.