Minnesota’s next move: Extending defensive linchpin after…

The 2025 free agent class is getting weaker seemingly every week.

On Tuesday afternoon, the San Francisco 49ers extended cornerback Deommodore Lenoir for five years and $92 million. It’s the latest in a line of extensions that pending free agents have signed during the season.

The Detroit Lions extended defensive tackle Alim McNeill a few weeks ago taking another talented defender from hitting the free agent market. These moves are showing the teams’ willingness to pay closer to market value with an extension so they don’t have to compete with other teams for their services.

Minnesota Vikings need to extend Byron Murphy Jr.

These extensions limit the Minnesota Vikings’ free-agent options this offseason with their projected $75 million in salary cap space. It raises the need to extend their own players with cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. being the one that they should pay immediately.

Back in September right before the season began, I took a look at defenders who could get extensions and Murphy was one of them.

One of the tough aspects about the cornerback room for the Vikings is the lack of talent locked up after the season. Mekhi Blackmon, Akayleb Evans and Dwight McGlothern are the only ones under contract for 2025 and that is Evans’ final year of his rookie deal. That aspect is a frustrating one for fans, but it’s also an unfortunate consequence of losing Khyree Jackson this April to a car accident.

Murphy is in the final year of his deal but has played well for the Vikings. He does have three void years on his contract, meaning that an extension could have the Vikings with similar cap hits for Murphy next year. He might not be a true CB1, but the versatility and talent he has is something you want to have in your cornerback room.

Predicted extension: 3 years, $30 million, $16.5 million guaranteed

If the Vikings chose to extend Murphy before the season, I believed around $10 million per season made a lot of sense. After his performance this season, that number has likely gone up. Murphy has four interceptions this season, including interceptions in the last three games. Per Pro Football Focus, Murphy is 18th among qualifying cornerbacks (played 240 or more snaps)

Murphy is still 26 years old and will turn 27 in January, which is a very young age to be signing a third contract. The Vikings need to invest in the cornerback position and bringing Murphy back should be a priority for general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.

New prediction: 3 years, $45 million, $28 million guaranteed