Vikings Allow More Time to Negotiate with Free Agent CB, Not QB…

The Minnesota Vikings are trying to start their 2025 offseason on the right foot. To do that, they must carefully pick and choose which of the two to three dozen pending free agents they will bring back off the 2024 roster.

Some of those decisions will be a lot easier than others, but nonetheless, there are plenty of them. But without a doubt, some pending free agents are obviously more important than others. Those are the guys who usually cost a lot more to bring back, too.

Related: Local Insiders Seem Prematurely Sold on Vikings’ Ultimate Plan for Sam Darnold

One main area of concern for the Minnesota Vikings between now and the start of free agency on March 12 is in the secondary, where they stand to lose all five (classic-style) defensive backs who played the majority of snaps for them last season.

Those possible departures include S Harrison Smith (retirement), S Cam Bynum (UFA), CB Stephon Gilmore (UFA/Retirement), CB Shaq Griffin (UFA) and CB Byron Murphy Jr (UFA), the latter of whom’s contract was set to void today, which would have made any talks of a return to Minnesota a lot more difficult.

Minnesota Vikings agree to extend negotiating window with Byron Murphy Jr.

That’s why, on Tuesday before those void years hit, the Vikings and Murphy Jr agreed to push out his contract void date to March 11, the day before NFL free agency begins. ESPN insider Dan Graziano explained what this procedural move means for negotiations between the Vikings and their top cornerback, which no longer includes an option to franchise tag.

Per a league source, the Vikings and CB Byron Murphy have agreed to push back the void date on his contract. Originally, the deal voided 23 days prior to the start of the league year (either today or tomorrow). Now, it’s the day before the start of the league year, which means…

— Dan Graziano (@DanGrazianoESPN) February 18, 2025

Originally, [Byron Murphy Jr’s] deal voided 23 days prior to the start of the league year (either today or tomorrow). Now, it’s the day before the start of the league year, which means Murphy cannot be franchised (since that date is past the deadline for teams to use the franchise tag).

Dan Graziano – ESPN (from tweet above)

This is the same move that the Minnesota Vikings made late last week, with running back Aaron Jones, who has made clear his intentions to remain in purple for as long as possible. While this announcement does make it more likely we see either or both of Jones and Murphy Jr. back with the Vikings, a reunion for either guy is far from imminent.

As noted by local ESPN Vikings beat writer, Kevin Seifert, the last two offseasons Minnesota was able to extend the window of both Dalvin Tomlinson (2023) and Marcus Davenport (2024), but ultimately still failed to reach an agreement by the newly set deadline. Both defensive linemen walked.

Related: Vikings Had Another Staff Member Hired Away Recently

It’s also worth mentioning that the MN Vikings did not reach any sort of extension on the negotiating window for Sam Darnold. This is important because, unlike Murphy Jr, it leaves open the possibility that he will be tagged by the Vikings before the deadline hits on March 4. Again, Graziano explains (tweet above continued).

Interestingly, [the Vikings] did NOT reach the same agreement [to extend negotiations] with QB Sam Darnold, whose contract still voids 23 days before the start of the league year [today or tomorrow]. If they don’t do a new deal with Darnold before the contract voids, then $5 million in remaining signing bonus proration would accelerate onto their 2025 salary cap as dead money for Sam Darnold. Upshot here: They still CAN franchise Darnold, but can’t franchise Murphy or Aaron Jones (who also pushed his void date back).

Dan Graziano – ESPN (from tweet above)