After spending the last three seasons as a starting safety for the Minnesota Vikings, Camryn Bynum is currently scheduled to become a free agent when the new league year begins in March. However, a new report reveals that the Vikings and Bynum could potentially get a new deal done before he's able to even reach free agency.
According to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler on Wednesday, Minnesota and the veteran safety are both "open" to working out an extension this year, and a new deal "could get done before mid-March."
In 2014, Bynum started all 18 of the Vikings' games (including the playoffs), and he set new single-season career highs for interceptions (three), pass breakups (10), and end zone celebrations.
Transition tag could be an option for the Minnesota Vikings to bring back Camryn Bynum for the 2025 season
If Minnesota and Bynum are unable to agree to an extension before March, it's possible that the Vikings could use the transition tag on him.
With this tag, Bynum would receive a one-year tender offer from Minnesota that would pay him the average of the top 10 salaries at the safety position. In addition, the transition tag would also give the Vikings the ability to match any offer Bynum receives from another team.
OverTheCap.com estimates the cost of the transition tag for a safety this offseason is a little less than $15.6 million. Based on some recent projections, that is slightly above the yearly amount that Bynum might be looking to earn from a new contract.
With Minnesota projected to have $57.9 million in cap space this year, they wouldn't have any trouble affording the transition tag for Bynum if that's something they decide to do.
Beginning on February 18th, the Vikings can place the transition tag on the safety. Minnesota will then have until March 4th to decide if they want to use the tag on Bynum or not.
The Vikings would likely prefer to sign Bynum to a multi-year contract if they bring him back this offseason so that they can spread out his cap hits. But if the two sides can't get an extension done before March, then the transition tag seems like a legitimate option for the Minnesota safety in 2025.