5 More Vikings Are Candidates for Contract Extensions

On Tuesday, the Minnesota Vikings addressed one of the remaining items on their offseason to-do list when they handed pass rusher Andrew Van Ginkel a one-year contract extension for $23 million. He’s now under contract for two seasons, until the 2027 offseason.

5 More Vikings Are Candidates for Contract Extensions

Besides him, there are some other players who could receive an extension. Here are five.

1. C.J. Ham

C.J. Ham is in the final year of his contract. After Harrison Smith, he is the longest-tenured Viking, joining the franchise in 2016. A hometown player, Ham has been a team captain for years, making valuable special-teams contributions and playing a minor role on offense.

Many teams have moved on from fullbacks entirely, but if you have a good one like the Vikings do, there’s no reason to erase that. He will turn 32 in July but still has another year or two left in the tank after that.

2. Josh Metellus

Josh Metellus stepped into a significant role when Brian Flores arrived in 2023 and has been used as a Swiss Army Knife defender in his unit. The so-called safety is also in the final year of his contract, which he signed right before he stepped into that full-time gig.

Therefore, he is criminally underpaid and deserves a raise. The Vikings should squash that contract and give him a long-term deal under fair conditions. This one is reportedly in the works.

3. Josh Oliver

Josh Oliver was a 2023 free-agent addition, and he signed a three-year contract worth $21 million. That is a giant amount of money for a TE2, and the salary has been criticized ad nauseam. However, he is slated to be an unrestricted free agent next March, and the coaching staff and front office clearly like him more than fans do.

There’s a good chance they want to keep him beyond the 2025 campaign, and extending his deal to comparable conditions makes sense. Because of the way his contract is structured, doing it before the season starts could unlock some extra cap space for this season.

4. Brian O’Neill

Brian O’Neill is another long-tenured player who arrived in the Twin Cities in 2018. The former second-rounder is actually under contract for two more seasons, but his cap hits combine to almost $50 million. An extension could lower those numbers, and as long as he is playing at a high level — he just went to the Pro Bowl after last season — there’s no reason to part ways with him.

In the upcoming season, the right tackle will bookend the strongest offensive line the Vikings have had in quite some time.

5. Ivan Pace Jr.

Another Flores special, Ivan Pace Jr., was signed after the 2023 draft and immediately earned a big-time role under the coordinator. He signed a three-year contract for a laughable annual salary of $905,000.

After the season, he will be a restricted free agent, and the Vikings hold all the cards, but rewarding players who have been underpaid has been something this Vikings regime has done.

Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.