EAGAN, Minn. -- It's one thing to sit out part of spring practices. It's quite another, Minnesota Vikings safety Josh Metellus said Wednesday, to miss even a portion of training camp.
Metellus, one of the team's key defensive players over the past two seasons, decided he would not extend his spring hold-in into the start of summer work. Despite not having an agreement on the contract extension he has been seeking, Metellus was a full participant in the Vikings' first training camp practice on Wednesday.
"The dialogue's been going good," Metellus said, "so I am not too worried about what's going on. I'm just doing my part, being here for the team, trying to be a leader, a captain, and I can't do that on the sideline. A big part is that the guy I am in this building is the guy who's out in front leading the way, so it makes no sense for me not to [participate]."
Metellus signed a three-year contract extension in 2023 that will void after this season. This spring, he sat out 7-on-7 drills, which were the most intense periods of the Vikings' practice plan.
His approach left open the possibility he could continue to scale back his participation until the sides agree on a new deal or a salary upgrade for 2025, but he said it's too close to the start of the season, in his mind, to do that.
"I did the work, man," Metellus said. "The past two years, I played 2,000-plus snaps, and that's all I got to go on. People can say whatever they want, up and down, about the kind of player I am, but at the end of the day, the tape don't have no sound."
