Vikings Free Agent Profile: Jalen Redmond’s breakout season creates fascinating dilemma with his contract situation
The biggest surprise on the 2025 Minnesota Vikings was Jalen Redmond.
After the retirement of fullback C.J. Ham, the Minnesota Vikings are set to have 20 free agents heading into the offseason. They are going to move on from multiple players and bring in new players to fill their spots. Along with that, they will be trying to bring back plenty of players who will hit free agency.
Ahead of free agency beginning, we will be taking a look at each free agent, breaking down what they did last season and whether or not they will return to Minnesota. The biggest difference maker on the free agent list is defensive tackle Jalen Redmond.
Jalen Redmond
Position: Defensive tackle
Age for 2026 Season: 27
Incoming NFL Year: 3rd
Previous AAV: $960k
2026 Snap %: 74.1%
What Jalen Redmond did in 2025
When the Vikings signed Redmond in June of 2024, he was essentially the 90th man on the roster. It wasn’t thought to be much of anything as an undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma. There were some health concerns with him coming out of college, which is a big reason why he went undrafted.
Once he got to training camp, Redmond was a star out the jump. He was so good during camp that the Vikings were forced to keep him on the active roster to start the season. He rewarded them with good play, and even started two games late in the season. Going into 2025, Redmond was a full-time starter and was arguably the best defender on the team with 6.0 sacks and 12.0 tackles for loss.
Jalen Redmond’s projection for 2026
Redmond looks to be one of the best players on the Vikings’ roster, and maybe the best on defense. He looks like one of the better three technique tackles in the NFL. He is a full-time starter for the Vikings, and his performance made Javon Hargrave expendable.
Where things get tricky with Redmond is his contract status. He only has two vested seasons, making him an exclusive rights free agent. Because he was a UDFA, he’s eligible to sign an extension. The smart financial decision might be to sign him to an extension right now before he plays well enough to make upward of $25 million per season. It would be tougher to get it done with this salary cap environment, but nowhere near impossible to get it done. If they don’t sign him to an extension, Redmond will end up getting slightly over $1 milion. Either way, Redmond will be on the roster next season.
Contract prediction: 1 year, $1.075 million if they stay on the tender, 3 year, $48 million with $28 million guaranteed if extended
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