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 Byron Murphy Jr. be back in Minnesota for 2025?”
The idea of losing Byron Murphy Jr. is potentially the most damaging loss to the roster this offseason.
Byron Murphy Jr. had a breakout year for the Vikings, while their entire defense had a season to remember. He set career highs in interceptions (6), games played (17), pass breakups (18), tackles for a loss (6), and tackles (81). He just turned 27 last month, so some of his best football is ahead of him, all that is left is to figure out where that us.
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 $11.4 million. In 2024, his base salary was $8.3 million, so that is a nice raise for him, but is it within the Vikings ability to spend?
Since the entire cornerback group is facing free agency, using Murphy Jr. as the leader of the group seems to be the logical sense.
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 a few million more than he had in 2024 seems manageable. One could hope the Vikings bring him back but only time will tell.