The Minnesota Vikings have many difficult questions to answer this offseason before they prepare for the 2025 season. One that no one wants to think about is, “Will Camryn Bynum be back in Minnesota for 2025?”
For the past two seasons, the defense has been the lifeblood of the Minnesota Vikings. Defensive coordinator Brian Flores has completely turned the fortunes of the Vikings’ defense, which struggled mightily just a few short seasons ago. One of the things that makes the Vikings’ defense tick is the play of their safeties, Harrison Smith and Bynum.
With neither Smith nor Bynum under contract next season, the defensive backfield for Minnesota could look dramatically different in 2025. Smith may be headed towards retirement, while Bynum should be a hot commodity on the free agent market.
That begs the question: What sort of contract might Bynum be looking at on the free agent market, and should the Vikings shell out for their star safety?
Bynum is a rising star at the safety position and just turned in arguably his best season as a professional in 2024. Bynum set a new career high with three interceptions and 10 passes defensed and tied a career-high with two fumble recoveries and two tackles-for-loss.
Now, at the end of his rookie deal, Bynum is likely looking at a significant bump with his next contract. In 2024, Bynum made just over $3 million in the final year of his contract. Now, the team at Over the Cap believes the young safety could be in line for a pay bump of over $2 million. They have his current valuation sitting at just over $5.6 million.
If that is, in fact, the number that Bynum’s future team lands at, it would be a steal for the Vikings. Bynum has quickly blossomed into an integral piece in Flores’ defensive scheme and one of the better young safeties in the league. A deal for $5.6 million per year would still put Bynum around the middle of the pack at the position.
With the Vikings projected to have over $60 million in cap space, they can easily accommodate this type of deal for Bynum and have plenty left over to improve their offensive line situation. I wouldn’t be surprised if Bynum’s deal comes in higher than the projected figure from OTC, but even still, it would be worth it for the Vikings to maintain as much defensive continuity as possible.