Friday mailbag: Darrisaw next?

Vikings fans are interested in Darrisaw's extension next year, Jefferson's contract and more

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By Matthew Coller

Happy Friday everybody! Now that we have a Jefferson extension it feels like we have officially reached summertime in Viking land. We’ll have lots of time for questions in the coming weeks so make sure you either join the Substack chat or email them to me over at PurpleInsider.com. Anyway, lots to discuss, let’s get into it….

Kyle S… Adam Schefter reported that Justin Jefferson almost accepted a contract prior to the start of the 2023 season that would have paid him an average of $28 million a year. Jefferson waited and received a contract worth an average of $35 million a year, making that a great decision for him. Which current Vikings who could be up for contract negotiations soon do you think should bet on themselves, like Jefferson did, to potentially increase their value?

This was a pretty unique circumstance. You rarely ever see a non-quarterback negotiating after three years so that allowed Jefferson the option to wait another year and see if he could get more. The Vikings don’t have many players who are approaching extension time aside from Christian Darrisaw. As good as he is, I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t talk about his extension until next summer. If we look at their upcoming free agency the only players that they could talk with during camp about an extension are Cam Bynum, Byron Murphy Jr. and Harrison Phillips. If they wanted to extend any of those guys then that would be fine but waiting probably isn’t a problem.

Bradley P… I’m confused by the structure of Jefferson’s contract. Why go so low this year? I know you can carry cap over but with his huge guarantees (much more than other wide receivers) it makes me worried that they’ll have tough decisions to make in 3-4 years.

I can’t pretend to fully understand every detail of how the thinking behind his contract structure worked but it’s not like they can just put the cap hits wherever they want. They needed to fit all the guaranteed salary within the first three years and then allow for a restructure in Year 3 and extension in Year 4. Like you said, the fact that they can carry over cap space to next year and they won’t be using much more of this year’s space outside of signing rookies and maybe one more free agent means that they will have lots to spend in 2025. If they need to lower the cap hit in 2026, they will.

Ben… Would it be a bad thing if Darold started the whole season if he was good or average??

Not at all. I know that I’m always the one who is always talking about only thinking about things in terms of the Super Bowl and if Darnold is average and they win eight games that isn’t exactly a reason to raise a banner but you’d far prefer that he looks good and that the team plays well than have them completely flop this season. It would be proof of concept when it comes to the supporting cast and KOC elevating the QB performance. It also matters to a lot of guys on the team

Wade M….Darrisaw hasn’t signed an extension yet?! What is he, a diva? We should trade him right away for 17 first-round picks! (Just trying to carry over the Jefferson contract insanity.)

Yeah, it was pretty crazy. The lesson is that the NFL media landscape demands drama even when there isn’t any.

Danny… It's fun seeing you involved in some of the Vikings entertainment network videos. How's Lewis Cine looking? Any chance he makes the team?

I’m just out there doing my thing. My one fear is having something embarrassing happen in the back of one of those videos like losing my hat or tripping.

Cine has been playing with the backups as usual. There is a chance that he makes the team, yes, but right now I’d probably lean toward them moving on and giving more work for Theo Jackson and possibly even Jay Ward. Looks like this camp is the last chance for him to show something.

Evan…Has there been any kicker/punter competition yet or can we expect to see that later in the offseason?

Kwesi said Jefferson deserves a whole week to himself. This week he signed his contract and the Vikings unveiled their new alternate all-white Winter Warrior uniforms. Do you think there will any more surprises? Also, rank the winter warrior, home classic, color rush/primetime purple, and the original uniforms from the 60s-80s

The kicking and punting competition is going on. It’s actually been hilarious to watch the punters because it’s been insanely windy and the ball is flying 80 yards. Reichard looks pretty impressive to me but it’s only been a few kicks. The real competition starts in camp if they keep John Parker Romo.

I never want to say that the Vikings can’t offer us surprises because you never know who’s going to drive 140 mph or something crazy like that but they should be pretty much done for the offseason unless they add one more player.

I’ll go with the original uniforms No. 1, then the current home uniforms, then winter warrior and then color rush. I’m not as much of a fan of the purple pants and white tops on the road so I’d probably put those last.

Jason… With Jefferson extended, how long until outlandish Darrisaw trade rumors? I give it a week.

Darrisaw’s name doesn’t do clicks. I’m guessing we won’t hear anything and he’ll sign without incident.

Rzuppelli… So Jefferson signed. QB of the future drafted. Cousins gone. What's next for the Kwesi haters (Kwidiots?)? I assume the lack of draft capital next year, but what else could it be?

The way I look at things like that is that there are always going to be pockets of fans who are loony and they are likely to be very loud about their lunacy. The impression that I’ve gotten from Vikings fans this offseason is that they took the right direction and the franchise is in the best position it’s been in for a while.

It was fair last year to want to wait and see the plan come to fruition before we judged KAM. The 2022 and 2023 seasons didn’t give us an answer to whether they could actually execute the plan and navigate this offseason that was bound to shape the future. It’s hard to find much fault with the free agency and draft. During the season we might be talking about some regrets around the margins like at defensive tackle or corner or depth receiver but the picture isn’t fully painted yet when it comes to the roster.

It’s like a video game where you defeat one boss and then the next one is even harder. Tearing down and drafting a QB is the first boss but building a true Super Bowl contending roster is a whole other level. What happens next will really define the KOC/KAM tenure.

Dennis A… Rumors like "Vikings tried to trade up for Nabers!" Is that a thing? Does KAM call the Chargers saying, "What will it take to trade up to 5? We want to draft Nabers." What's the strategic benefit in saying who you're planning to draft if you can negotiate a trade? Wouldn't you just try to negotiate the trade for the pick?

I don’t really know what to say about rumors other than that I have no reason to believe trading Jefferson was ever a realistic possibility. One thing I know is that teams make lots of phone calls and go over lots of scenarios because that’s their job. I imagine if someone leaked every scenario that was talked about in all 32 buildings there would be some really wild stuff. Since I never heard anything regarding trading Jefferson, I can’t give you anything more than that.

Substack user…Now that Jefferson is locked up and they've got their rookie quarterback and a revamped defense, when do we start looking for extensions for Kwesi and KOC?

After this year. Traditionally the Wilfs gave extensions to Mike and Rick when they were about to enter the final year of their contract. They can let this year play out and decide how they feel about where the franchise is headed before going all in on a long-term extension for both. But they have each cleared the major hurdles so far. KOC has proven that he can win games and be the front door of the franchise and KAM showed that he could navigate a roster through all sorts of potholes from the salary cap that he inherited to the aging roster to the complex quarterback situation to Jefferson’s extension.

Everything about the way the roster has been handled fits thematically within the plan that they presented when they arrived. That doesn’t mean it’s all been perfect or that it’s guaranteed 100% to work but they checked off all the boxes to put themselves in position within the next two years to legitimately compete. It reminds me of where Detroit was in 2022 or Philly in 2021. A solid season should result in them getting extensions that represent a full buy in.

Pete… what’s your view on the new Whiteout alternate uniforms? Personally I think they look pretty good and definitely one of the coolest that I’ve seen

I don’t have a super strong take other than that I’m cool with the concept of mixing it up once every year. Some people were not fond of the old color rush uniforms but I thought they were pretty unique. The white helmet thing is something that a lot of fans wanted and they did it in a way that looks really clean. For fans who like to collect things like helmets and jerseys, these will stand out in the collection. I think they’ll look even better on the field than in the photos.

Bradley P… Are you watching for different things when viewing the quarterbacks?

Do you mean that I’m watching for different things when evaluating Darnold and McCarthy because they are in different spots in their careers? I’m always using context when watching anything. I’d be a fool to expect McCarthy to look as confident as Darnold. They call it the “learning phase” for a reason. Rookies are feeling their way through things here and the veterans are running around like guys who have done it before. OTAs and minicamp are always that way.

Still, I have to take note of where McCarthy stands in terms of accuracy and command of the offense now. We’ll track the progress throughout training camp and see what it looks like by the end of camp/preseason and go from there. And even then, no matter what happens in camp, we’re still going to have to take our time. Overreacting to a 21-year-old QB in his first days on an NFL practice field is unfair to him and silly. It’s certainly not going to draw much attention my way to take this one slow but that’s the right approach.

So what I’ve tried to figure out is what types of tools McCarthy has and what he needs to improve. For Darnold, it’s about how good he can really be. I’ve been wowed by some of the throws in minicamp. Does it look this smooth in training camp? If it does, I’ll start to buy into the idea that there could be something there.

Al… Is there a Vikings W-L record that would guarantee and extension for KOC and is there a W-L record that guaranteed he gets fired?