A little hard to believe....

The Minnesota Vikings have kicked off their OTAs, or Organized Team Activities. Most players from the 90-man offseason roster were present, but some were absent, and one defender’s absence is notable, in particular.

The Minnesota Vikings host training camp at TCO Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Justin Jefferson was there after skipping OTAs in the past, and J.J. McCarthy got his first on-field action since last August.

On defense, consider this nugget from the official Vikings website. Craig Peters wrote in his OTA observations: “Veteran cornerback Jeff Okudah was involved early in coverage, lining up opposite of Murphy in a 7-on-7 grouping that also included Pace and Blake Cashman at inside linebacker, Andrew Van Ginkel on the edge, and Harrison Smith and Theo Jackson at safety. (CB Isaiah Rodgers and all-arounder Joshua Metellus were not at the voluntary session). Jay Ward also logged some work in filling in for Metellus.”

No Metellus.

The safety, or Swiss Army Knife, missed OTAs. Why is that notable, considering those are voluntary? Well, Metellus is in the final year of his contract extension, and he is severely underpaid compared to his peers. The holdout — if it is one — could signal that there’s some tension between him and the franchise.

He signed a two-year contract worth $8 million in the 2023 offseason. That was a brilliant move by Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, who handed the defender a new deal right before his career took off under Brian Flores, who is fully taking advantage of his versatility.

Just a couple of weeks ago, NFL.com’s Gennaro Filice listed Metellus as Minnesota’s underappreciated player and suggested that he deserves a new deal.

“With his impressive renovation of Minnesota’s defense over the past two seasons, Brian Flores has established himself as one of the most esteemed coordinators in football today. But one of his key cogs hasn’t received the national shine he deserves. The Vikings’ second-leading tackler in each of the past two seasons, Metellus is the chess piece Flores moves all over the board. Currently in the final year of his contract, Metellus feels like a prime extension candidate, given his Swiss Army Knife role in Flores’ attacking defense.”

Thankfully, Rick Spielman didn’t rest on his laurels in 2020 after selecting Justin Jefferson. In the sixth round, he added Michigan’s defender Metellus. Unlike Jefferson, he needed some time to grow and was a reserve for three seasons.

In those three years, Metellus developed into a premier special-teams player and had some spot starts in place of Harrison Smith in 2022. His breakthrough came in 2023 when Flores entered the building.

Through five seasons, Metellus has played in 82 games with 30 starts. He has registered four interceptions, five forced fumbles, 2.5 sacks, and 283 tackles. Metellus was pretty much a full-time player in the last two seasons, playing 1,065 and 991 defensive snaps. Remarkably, he still played about half of the special-teams snaps.

In April, Metellus was asked about a new deal. He didn’t really want to talk about it, pointing to the private aspect of those conversations. Then, he noted that he would want to spend his entire career in the Twin Cities.

So what could a contract look like? Let’s set the baseline and say that $4 million per year isn’t going to cut it.

A couple of safeties make north of $20 million a year, and eight others have a deal worth at least $15 million per season, including departed safety Cam Bynum, Metellus’ dance partner, who headed to Indianapolis in this year’s free agency.

A total of 18 safeties earn at least $10 million per season. Metellus surely belongs in that group. He won’t be cheap, but he has earned every penny. An annual salary of $12-14 million is realistic.

Metellus is a unicorn, a one-of-a-kind defender who can play all over the field and do every job imaginable. He is a locker room leader and one of the most popular players on the team.

When Andrew Van Ginkel signed his new deal, ESPN’s Kevin Seifert noted that Metellus could be next: “Van Ginkel is one of several Vikings veterans who has been in negotiations for a contract extension this offseason, Another is safety Josh Metellus, whose contract is set to expire after the 2025 season. He and Van Ginkel are represented by the same agents.”

Considering his worth for the defense and the locker room, a new deal should be ready for his signature soon. It’s a no-brainer.

He’s now 27 years old.

Source:  https://purpleptsd.com/2025/vikings/top_...i-holdout/

"For now, Fries is focused on finishing up his rehab process, which has included turning some heads in the weight room. The former seventh-round pick out of Penn State is a big-time athlete at 6'6" and 305 pounds (this is hilarious, the guy goes 320 lbs for sure).

"It's almost hard to believe with how strong he is, some of the things you're hearing about from what he's doing in the weight room," O'Connell said.

This dude has the attitude and strength to elevate the line to nasty. Much needed. Won't let any cheapshots on the QB. You know Darrisaw will come back stronger after rehab, they all do. The rookie Jackson is an earth mover. And the new grizzly at center with O'Neill at OT is just an exciting line to carry this team.

Seems crazy that is the case but it will be here before we know it. I think the theme is continuity with a strategic plan and its all fallen into place as projected. Coach of the Year and both the HC and GM have signed contract extensions. A new highly drafted, talented QB that KOC gets to peel the plastic off of and mold into his ideal for the position. Offensive line and defensive line upgrades. The same schemes on the both sides of the football, the same message being presented by the same staff. Familiarity for the players. Consistency. Urgency to achieve and a culture developed in that regard. Rock solid ownership. 

These are all hallmarks of what successful franchises aspire to. Fingers crossed this is a new era in Minnesota Viking's football. All the work for the new regime has led to this season and the seasons that follow with what is hopefully a franchise QB to be the lynchpin for consistent top level contention in the NFC and a new narrative. If you can crack the bonds of scar tissue that all of us long timers have, you can see what I'm talking about. Should be a very fun ride. 

This is a mild concern for me when looking at our roster. We lack another true pass catching option at the position behind Hockenson..Oliver has never caught more than 22 passes in a season and is known as more of an in-line blocker. Behind him we have the rookie 6th round pick from Pitt, Bartholomew, who nobody knows about but would be safe in assuming any impact from him would be minimal. You lose Hockenson for any amount of time and the entire position itself is rendered useless from a threat standpoint. I'm seeing some interesting names being floated out as potential trade options like Johnnu Smith and Kyle Pitts. I would certainly explore those options if I was Kwesi. 

Anybody else feel the same?

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootbal...ta-vikings

I think Zimmer deserved to have won this award.

Forgot how funny it was. I can’t recall a show that packed more one liners in 30 minutes. What a bunch of crazy characters. 

Just started Spartacus for the second time. Fiancé is in the UK starting today for nearly 3 weeks and I wanted to binge something she had zero interest in. 

Might start Peaky Blinders again. Maybe the 4th time will be the charm.

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/aaron...er-report/