Heading into this 2026 NFL offseason, one of the biggest decisions the Minnesota Vikings were faced with was whether to exercise the fifth-year option on wide receiver Jordan Addison's contract, which would keep him under team control through the 2027 campaign, or just to go ahead and offer him a lucrative long-term extension, one that could cost the team upward of $30 million per season.
But given the recent events surrounding the soon-to-be 24-year-old (his birthday is January 27), one has to wonder if the option to cut or trade him is now on the table as well.
Addison, of course, was recently arrested on a misdemeanor trespassing charge at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tampa, Florida. Details weren't immediately available, but it was later revealed that he was asked to leave a restaurant inside the property, but refused on several occasions. And when security did eventually attempt to escort him out, he "had to be redirected to the front exit multiple times before authorities ultimately arrested him for trespassing."
Addison's legal team has already gone on the offensive, posting on X that they're "reviewing the viability of a claim for false arrest," Still, one has to assume the Vikings are conducting an investigation of their own, as the incident marked the USC alum's third legal infraction since Minnesota took him with the 23rd overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
In July 2023, Addison was cited for speeding and reckless driving after being clocked going 140 miles per hour in St. Paul. And in July 2024, he was arrested for DUI after being found asleep behind the wheel of a car on a highway near Los Angeles International Airport, which ultimately led to him being suspended for the first three games of the 2025 season.
The Minnesota Vikings would take only a $4.369 million dead cap hit by cutting Jordan Addison
Now, if the Vikings were to ultimately decide that Addison isn't worth the trouble, the fact that they haven't yet exercised his fifth-year option, which would be worth roughly $17.5 million, means that the only remaining money still on his contract is the $4,369,189 he's owed for the 2026 season, which Minnesota would take on in dead cap money.
If the Vikings were to trade him, according to Over The Cap, they'd only be on the hook for $1,746,679 and would save $2,622,510 against the 2026 cap.
The likelihood of Minnesota parting ways with Addison seems low, but one could easily assume that this latest arrest could hold up the long-term extension talks for another year.
The fact that the Maryland native is coming off the worst season of his three-year NFL career after catching just 42 passes for 610 yards with only three touchdowns could certainly factor into the decision as well. Some of that decline can undoubtedly be connected to the Vikings' offense falling off as a whole during the '25 campaign due to the issues at the quarterback position, but it might still be difficult to justify giving $30 million per season to a 600-yard receiver who has problems staying out of trouble.
We'll now just have to wait and see how things play out.