Latest news with #JoshMetellus
USA Today
4 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Minnesota Vikings secondary earns poor ranking from PFF ahead of 2025
The Minnesota Vikings were aggressive this offseason in an effort to improve a roster that went 14-3 last season. But did they do enough to address a secondary that is older and filled with question marks? Last week, PFF ranked all 32 secondaries in the league. They ranked the Vikings 27th, citing talented yet aging players and unproven younger additions as concerns. This is an aging secondary that benefits from a defensive scheme designed to pressure opposing quarterbacks. Safety Harrison Smith still plays quality football, though his prime years are behind him. Josh Metellus is an average safety but reliable against the run. Cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. is coming off a career year, but it's unclear whether he's finally hitting his stride or if it was a one-year spike in performance. The Vikings added several defensive backs in free agency — Isaiah Rodgers, Tavierre Thomas and Jeff Okudah — but they will likely need the front seven to continue generating heavy pressure for the secondary to succeed. It's hard to argue the assessment of Smith, who is 36. But Metellus is a Swiss Army Knife, a leader on the defense who plays all over the defense. Calling him "average" is one thing, but pigeon-holing him as a traditional safety further diminishes his actual impact. There is no mention of fourth-year safety Theo Jackson, who has played sparingly through three seasons. Yet teammates and coaches rave about him when he's mentioned. Could he be the latest safety to break through in Flores' defense? If Rodgers can meet his potential and Murphy can repeat his Pro Bowl season, the Vikings could have a solid cornerback tandem. Questions remain about the CB3 spot, as Mekhi Blackmon returns from injury, and Okudah probably isn't being counted on to start. 27th feels harsh, but it's hard to give any definitive reasons why the Vikings should be higher on the list outside of "trust Brian Flores". At worst, the secondary isn't very good, but the improved pass rush helps mitigate this. At best, the pieces in the secondary come together and solidify this defense as one of the league's best.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Vikings Star Gets Honest About Missing Practice Amid Contract Dispute
Vikings Star Gets Honest About Missing Practice Amid Contract Dispute originally appeared on Athlon Sports. It was out of character for Minnesota Vikings safety Josh Metellus to be missing from the practice field for voluntary OTAs a week ago. Advertisement However, a trend has continued for the Vikings team captain and emotional leader of the team, who sat out 7-on-7s during mandatory minicamps on Tuesday. The assumption: Metellus, in the final year of his contract, is looking for a new deal. After practice on Wednesday, June 11, Metellus addressed his absence from team activities. Minnesota Vikings safety Josh Metellus (44) is a limited participant at mandatory minicamps amid a contract negotiation with the team.© Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports "It's all good, that's part of the process right now. I mean, the coaches, front office, everybody understands, you know, situation I'm here," Metellus told KSTP's Darren Wolfson on June 11. "I'm building that chemistry with my new teammates and the old teammates, and I'm here being the same guy I am all the time. So you guys know me. It ain't nothing change.' Two summers ago, the Vikings proactively signed Metellus to a two-year, $8 million extension with the hopes that he would seize a prominent role in the first year under Brian Flores. Advertisement He did that, and then some. After starting just three games in three years as a 2020 sixth-round pick, Metellus has started 27 games and surpassed 1,000 defensive snaps each of the past two seasons since Flores arrived. Metellus has become an integral part of the Flores' amoebic defense that lines versatile players all over the field. Metellus is arguably the defense's most versatile player, capable of lining up at over a dozen positions as both a cover man and a pass rusher. That's made his contract negotiations tricky when considering what he is worth to the team. Metellus said that despite all the versatility, he values himself as a safety and merely learned all those roles to have an impact behind Harrison Smith and Camryn Bynum, who signed with a $15-million-a-year deal with the Indianapolis Colts in March. Advertisement "I kind of had to, we had a Hall of Famer and a guy getting paid $15 million back there," Metellus said of his learning his hybrid role. "I had to find a way to fit in." Metellus should garner a contract in the ballpark of Bynum's deal in Indianapolis, which ranks 10th in average annual value at the position. "At the end of the day, I came in this league at safety, that's forever going to be my true position," Metellus added. "All the other stuff, I think, adds to my value. But at the end of the day, I'm a ball player -- 1,000 snaps at whatever position, I'm going to do everything to help the team win.' Related: Randy Moss' Son Reacts After Going Unsigned at Vikings Tryout Related: Packers Predicted to Replace Jaire Alexander With Ex-Viking, Former All-Pro This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 12, 2025, where it first appeared.
New York Times
10-06-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Vikings minicamp: Dallas Turner makes play of the day, but will he get more snaps?
EAGAN, Minn. — Locating Dallas Turner on the field is not tricky. Look for the green mouth guard flopping beneath the facemask. It's usually near the line of scrimmage, swaying back and forth before the snap. But not this time, not amid an early seven-on-seven rep during Tuesday afternoon's mandatory minicamp practice for the Minnesota Vikings. Advertisement On this play, Turner lined up as an off-ball linebacker in the middle of the field, his eyes watching the quarterback and his bright red no-contact jersey. Most drills feel like walk-throughs this time of year, especially with how the Vikings value player health over the summer. This one differed in that the wideouts sprinted off the line of scrimmage. Turner floated backward into coverage. His vision shifted back and forth between the quarterback and the nearest receiver. Defensive coordinator Brian Flores had called a zone coverage, and here Turner was, moving fluidly, looking like he was meant to be there, roaming perfectly in the receiver's window. Just as the ball arrived, he batted it away. His teammates noticed. When asked after practice about Turner's growth, veteran safety Josh Metellus mentioned the deflection. 'I'm loving what I'm seeing,' he said. 'He is able to show that growth right now, and that's what you want.' The bar to clear may be low given the number of full-speed reps, but if there were an award for minicamp play of the day, that would take the cake. It's not that Turner's play was a huge surprise. Rewatch last year's game in Seattle against Geno Smith and the Seahawks, and you'll stumble upon a well-read, second-quarter interception by Turner in the flat. It's more that the 2024 first-round pick who played sparingly on defense last year is taking advantage of every opportunity to show his stuff. .@UnoErra snags it! 📺: @NFLonFOX — Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) December 22, 2024 Not that the 22-year-old needs to prove what he's capable of, by the way. Flores reiterated multiple times last season that Turner's lack of playing time was primarily a byproduct of the two talented edge rushers occupying the every-down spots. Andrew Van Ginkel earned an All-Pro honor, and Jonathan Greenard was also deserving. They combined for 138 tackles, 23 1/2 sacks, five forced fumbles and two interceptions returned for touchdowns. It felt like Van Ginkel possessed an almost telepathic knowledge of what the opposing team was trying to do. Greenard, meanwhile, maintained an energy level that made you wonder if he was recharging electronically between series. Advertisement Flores didn't view Turner as a backup-level player — 'I see it as three starters,' he said Tuesday. Two additional factors were working against Turner. First, he injured his knee in Week 2 against San Francisco, sidelining him the following week and halting whatever momentum he had created. Second, he was new to a complex defensive system. Learning to be an edge rusher at the pro level is a challenge in itself, but Turner is also athletic and smart enough to play inside linebacker. Each spot requires different techniques. Mastery requires patience, a quality that is rare in NFL circles. Outwardly, Turner didn't struggle with the minimal snaps. He said all of the right things in interviews throughout the season. That he was absorbing knowledge from Greenard and Van Ginkel. That he knew his time would come. These comments showed his professionalism, but privately, he had a burning desire to see more of the field. So much so that not even a month after the Vikings lost in the playoffs to the Los Angeles Rams, Turner texted longtime trainer Javon Gopie to ask when they could begin workouts. Most NFL players were vacationing, sipping beverages in tropical climates. Gopie, who has worked with Greenard, Denver's Nik Bonitto and Miami's Jaelan Phillips, understood Turner's fire but encouraged him to take more time. 'I had to turn him down, just encourage him to take more time off,' Gopie said recently. 'He was super-motivated, man.' When they finally began meeting on turf fields under the blazing Miami sun, one of their conversations revolved around Bonitto. He and Turner had played together at renowned St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Both stood around 6-foot-3 and weighed close to 240 pounds. They shared traits, both moving smoothly in their pursuit of the quarterback. Advertisement Bonitto's professional arc started slowly — he only played 357 defensive snaps as a rookie. The uptick in snaps during his second season coincided with more sack production. What Gopie wanted to talk to Turner about was Bonitto's 2024 season: the 13 1/2 sacks, the overall pressure production, the interception returned for a touchdown. 'What'd you think about Nik's year?' Gopie asked Turner on the metal benches before a workout. 'What'd that mean to you?' 'You have no idea,' Turner responded. Gopie's take on its effect? Knowing what Bonitto accomplished suggested Turner could also reside in that upper echelon of NFL pass rushers. 'He's one of one, man,' Gopie said. 'I have no doubt, based on the reps, that he's a 10-plus-sack guy.' It's not a matter of mindset, at least not according to Flores, who complimented the high standard Turner sets for himself. Nor is it a matter of being willing to take coaching. Turner checks the professional boxes. The only remaining question is the one Gopie alluded to, the one about where the playing time will come from. Flores hasn't tipped his hand there, other than to say, 'Dallas is coming into his own as far as how he's going to contribute as a rusher, as a dropper, on the ball, off the ball, in different packages.' His point? The green mouth guard could be all over the place this fall. Maybe he'll stay stationary on the edge, or maybe he'll shift from the inside linebacker spot to the A-gap. That he's capable of doing all of this — and, more importantly, doing it well — is why he's worth playing in the first place.
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Concerns Grow Over Vikings Team Captain Josh Metellus' Behavior at OTAs
Concerns Grow Over Vikings Team Captain Josh Metellus' Behavior at OTAs originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Minnesota Vikings safety and team captain Josh Metellus' participation in voluntary organized team activities (OTAs) has drawn some concerns. Advertisement While head coach Kevin O'Connell said that a near 100% of his roster is participating at OTAs, Metellus' presence has suggested that mark comes with an asterisk. According to Minnesota Star Tribune beat reporter Ben Goessling, Metellus has not been the same active leader he's proven himself to be at this stage of the offseason due to a contractual standoff with the team. Minnesota Vikings safety Josh Metellus (44)Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images On a June 3 episode of the "Access Vikings" podcast, Goessling suggested that Metellus, in the final year of his contract, may be staging a hold-in at OTAs until he gets a new deal with limited participation this spring. "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," Goessling said. "[Metellus] 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.' Advertisement "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." In the final year of a two-year, $8 million extension that he signed before he became a 1,000-snap starter for Brian Flores' defense, Metellus has outplayed the deal significantly. He signed the contract as a former sixth-round pick and special teamer that Flores envisioned getting more out of due to his football IQ and instinct on the field. Since Metellus has realized that potential, working out a new deal could prove difficult given his positional versatility -- lining up as a slot corner, at free safety and even as a pass rusher. Advertisement A to Z Sports' Tyler Forness projected a three-year, $34 million deal worth roughly $13 million a year could be the rate that would make both sides happy. Related: Vikings Make Brutally Honest J.J. McCarthy Admission Amid QB Questions Related: Javon Hargrave Faces Pivotal Season Entering Vikings OTAs This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 6, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Vikings' Josh Metellus receives warning at Timberwolves playoff game
Everyone has been to a sporting event where things may have gotten out of hand in one way or another. For some folks, it is at a professional sporting event, others it is at their kids' t-ball game. Hopefully, it is the first one, but everyone has their bad days, and we aren't here to judge. For one Minnesota Vikings player, he wanted to show support for another Minnesota sports team, the Timberwolves. Josh Metellus finds himself trusted into a starting role in the Vikings defense after the departure of Camryn Bynum this offseason, so all eyes will be on him on the field. While visiting the Target Center, however, all eyes were on him in a different way after he got a little too excited being seated courtside for the Timberwolves conference finals game against the Thunder. Metellus showed the world that he received a warning from officials at the game for being a little too energetic during the game in which the Timberwolves beat the Thunder by a wide margin. Metellus is just one of many Vikings players and coaches who have been visible at the games during their playoff run. Other faces include Justin Jefferson, J.J. McCarthy, and Kevin O'Connell. Advertisement Many more are sure to pop up, but so far, Metellus can stake a claim to the most memorable visit to a Timberwolves game this year by a Vikings player. This article originally appeared on Vikings Wire: Josh Metellus receives warning at Timberwolves playoff game
