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 Pat Jones II be back in Minnesota for 2025?”
The idea of losing Pat Jones II is perhaps less on the mind of Vikings fans, but should it be?
Pat Jones II had a breakout year for the Vikings, while their entire defense had a season to remember. He set career highs in sacks (7), tackles (39), and QB hits (12). He is still just 26 years old, so having a breakout year at this age and going into free agency couldn’t be more perfect for him.
This brings us to the question: What will his next contract be, and should the Vikings pay it?
Overthecap speculates that his contract value on the open market would be around $3.1 million. In 2024, his base salary was $1.3 million, so that is a nice raise for him, but it remains a manageable amount for the Vikings.
For what the Vikings have shown to like on defense, having him on the rotation for the next couple of years at the price is well worth it for the Vikings.
The Vikings are projected to have just $77 million dollars, before any adjustments, in their salary cap this offseason. Getting back someone who is coming off a career year for just a slim margin of that money almost seems like a no-brainer. So many teams have a rotation of pass rushers and he would fit on any of them, so why not stay with Minnesota?