Inside The Vikings

Vikings Sign Safety Josh Metellus to Two-Year Contract Extension

Metellus is a special teams captain who is set for a larger role on defense in 2023.
Will Ragatz|
Vikings Sign Safety Josh Metellus to Two-Year Contract Extension
Vikings Sign Safety Josh Metellus to Two-Year Contract Extension

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Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings are signing safety and special teams captain Josh Metellus to a two-year contract extension worth up to $13 million, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The deal comes with $6 million guaranteed.

This is a cool moment for a player who was drafted in the sixth round back in 2020. Metellus, 25, has played a little more than 300 defensive snaps in his career, but he's set for a much larger role this season under Brian Flores. He's also a talented, versatile special teams player who has racked up over 930 snaps in that phase during his three seasons.

Metellus was almost exclusively a special teams player during his first two seasons, appearing in 31 games with just 70 snaps played on defense. Last year, he started to get a few more opportunities at safety, seeing a career-high 261 defensive snaps. Making his first NFL start in Week 3, Metellus sealed a win over the Lions with his first career interception to cap an 11-tackle day. He went on to start two more games later in the year.

On special teams, Metellus' value has never been in question. He plays on every unit and blocked a punt in consecutive games late last season. When Brian O'Neill got hurt against the Packers, Metellus was named the Vikings' replacement captain. This year, he's one of the team's two captains on special teams, along with fullback C.J. Ham.

If he stays healthy, Metellus is going to easily set another career-high in defensive snaps this season. Even as the No. 3 safety on the depth chart, he got a ton of reps with the first-team D during training camp this year, emerging as a versatile chess piece for Flores. Expect to see Metellus on the field quite a bit this year, lining up all over the formation.

The 205th overall pick in 2020 was headed into the final year of his rookie deal. This extension ensures he's here to stay.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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