Last month, it was revealed that the Minnesota Vikings intend to exercise the fifth-year option in the rookie contract of wide receiver Jordan Addison later this year.
Immediately, many thought this meant that the Vikings are seriously open to making a long-term commitment to Addison and significantly increasing his yearly salary. However, exercising his fifth-year option is a whole lot different than actually picking up his fifth-year option.
Minnesota exercising Addison's fifth-year option is an extremely low-risk decision since it has no impact on the team's salary cap situation for the 2026 season. Instead, it just gives the Vikings a path to potentially keep him on the roster for the 2027 campaign and beyond.
There's a major emphasis on the potentially part of that sentence, though.
Minnesota Vikings could send a huge message to Jordan Addison in 2026 NFL Draft
If Minnesota is going to actually pick up Addison's fifth-year option and possibly negotiate with his representation about a new lucrative, multi-year contract for the receiver, then a couple of things need to happen.
First and foremost, he needs to stay out of trouble. It's an easy thing to accomplish for the majority of current NFL players, but for whatever reason, Addison has wound up in terrible situations too many times in his short tenure with the Vikings.
If Minnesota is going to ever agree to give him a big payday, he has to prove that he can be trusted during the offseason when he's not at the team facility every day. So far, that trust level isn't where it needs to be.
Next, Addison has to take his play to its highest level in 2026.
Sure, he's caught 22 touchdowns in his first three seasons with the Vikings. That's really impressive, but instead of just being Minnesota's No. 2 receiver, he needs to be the team's WR No. 1B to Justin Jefferson's WR No. 1A.
Addison was a first-round pick in 2023, and he's never finished a year with at least 1,000 receiving yards. Obviously, inconsistent quarterback play was a factor last season, but Minnesota adding Kyler Murray in the offseason should help prevent that from happening again in 2026.
So, if Murray is able to remain the Vikings' starting signal-caller for most of next season, and Addison still can't get over the 1,000-yard hump, then it's going to be hard to convince the team to give him a big raise in 2027.
Minnesota also has an opportunity to send a major message to Addison during next week's NFL Draft.
What if one of the top 2026 wide receiver prospects is still on the board when the Vikings go on the clock to make their first pick? Is Minnesota going to pass on drafting one of them because they have Addison, or will they select a receiver who could potentially take Addison's job as early as next season?
In 1998, the Vikings already had an outstanding wide receiver duo in Cris Carter and Jake Reed, but that didn't stop them from drafting Randy Moss in the first round.
Now, there isn't a Moss-type of prospect that Minnesota could select with their top pick this year, but there are several talented pass-catchers the team could bring in to challenge Addison for targets next season.
If the Vikings actually do decide to draft a wide receiver with one of their top picks next week, Addison can do one of two things.
He can sulk and feel sorry for himself that his time in Minnesota could be coming to an end sooner than expected, or he can use it as motivation to prove to the Vikings next season that he is a better option than any rookie receiver the team might draft this year.
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