Anytime a player is absent from voluntary OTAs, it's easy to get into an uproar. A lot of times it's contract-related. In the case of Minnesota Vikings safety Josh Metellus, he has a $50,000 workout bonus in his contract that he would presumably forfeit by not showing up to at least the majority of the offseason program.
So by all accounts Metellus has been at every bit of the voluntary portion of the Vikings' offseason as he enters the final year of his contract. But he has been observed as a very limited participant in recent practices, without an apparent injury cause as contract negotiations may be taking place.
Metellus has become a key, versatile piece of Brian Flores' defense, topping 100 total tackles in each of the last two seasons with a total of 10 pass breakups and three interceptions over that span. With that versatility in mind, he doesn't fit the strict position label of safety and how successful he would be in another defensive scheme is an open question.
On a recent episode of the "Access Vikings" podcast, Ben Goessling of the Minnesota Star Tribune raised the notion that Metellus is "holding in" as he awaits a new contract.
"I think there's interest from both sides in continuing that relationship and that he continues to be an important piece of the defense in Minnesota, but as of now, that contract is not done, and I don't think there's really much in terms of guaranteed money for him at this point.
He may be saying, 'I'm gonna be here so I can get my workout bonus, but I'm gonna mitigate some of what I do so that I'm not putting myself at more risk when I don't have a guaranteed contract going forward beyond this year and I want to see something get done.'
It's one of those things to keep an eye on. I don't know for sure that that's the only reason for it. It's possible, I suppose, that he's coming back from something (injury-wise). But the Occam's razor there would suggest that the contract is at least a factor in some of the way that he's going about it in practices that we've seen, at least to this point."
Contract extension for Josh Metellus to remain with the Minnesota Vikings feels inevitable
On Thursday's episode of "Minnesota Sports with Mackey & Judd" on SKOR North, the hosts wasted no time getting right into Metullus wanting a contract extension with KSTP's Darren Wolfson.
First, Wolfson pointed to the Vikings' solid history in the recent past of getting deals done with Metellus's agent, Drew Rosenhaus (who also represents Andrew Van Ginkel, Aaron Jones, Christian Darrisaw, and Jonathan Greenard). But as he also acknowledged, and co-host Judd Zulgad reinforced, it's hard to quantify Metellus's value since he's not a traditional safety.
Under the idea that an agreement is close, Zulgad also suggested there might be an understanding between Minnesota and Metellus regarding his lack of activity at this year's OTA practices.
Wolfson and co-host Phil Mackey went into what Metellus could command in his new contract, with Wolfson settling on an opinion that the Vikings are unlikely to go above $15 million per year.
Wolfson's general impression is that the contract talks are not contentious, as Goessling also suggested. So it seems to be only a matter of time before something is done to keep Metellus in purple for a few more years beyond 2025.