The Minnesota Vikings are in the midst of a pivotal offseason. They need to not just get a franchise quarterback, but also sign multiple key pieces to an extension. The Philadelphia Eagles signed Jordan Mailata to an extension on April 4th and I wrote about how that helped identify how the Vikings might pay left tackle Christian Darrisaw.
This is the third left tackle extension announced in recent months that will have a major impact on the discussions with Darrisaw. The others are Laremy Tunsil, who signed a three-year, $75 million contract with the Houston Texans back in March of 2023 and Andrew Thomas who signed a five-year, $117.5 million contract extension with the New York Giants in July of 2023.
Penei Sewell extension complicates Vikings signing Christian Darrisaw
On Wednesday afternoon, the Detroit Lions were busy by extending both wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and right tackle Penei Sewell. Both of them are now the highest-paid players at their positions. The Sewell extension was massive at $28 million per season, $3 million more than Laremy Tunsil to become the highest-paid player at the position.
Darrisaw was also drafted in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft but selected at 23rd overall. He has shown the ability to be a true franchise left tackle and done so with consistency. He is also going to be up for an extension like Sewell was.
How much will Darrisaw get in an extension? Initially, I believed it to be around $23 million per year but with the Sewell contract re-setting the bar, that price has likely gone up to around $26-28 million per season. Don't worry about the left tackle/right tackle distinction, as it's less important now than ever.