New Vikings GM Nolan Teasley faces critical contract extension decisions that will define Minnesota’s salary cap future. On this episode of The Real Forno Show, Tyler Forness and producer Dave Stefano break down potential extensions for Brian O’Neill, Jordan Addison, Jalen Redmond, and even Kyler Murray — and what each deal means for the Vikings heading into 2026 and beyond. This is the must-listen Minnesota Vikings podcast for cap-savvy fans who want to understand the chess moves before they happen.
Tyler Forness lays out a clear philosophy from the jump: “Paying your own players is the best way to build and maintain a roster.” With Teasley brand new to the GM chair, the question isn’t just who deserves an extension — it’s whether Teasley will prioritize players he has no prior ties to. Forness projects four extensions and models exactly how each fits under the cap, walking fans through the Brzezinski contract-structuring methodology the Vikings have used for Justin Jefferson, Christian Darrisaw, and others.
With approximately $50 million in projected 2027 cap space as a starting point, Forness demonstrates that extending all four players is not only feasible — it still leaves the Vikings with roughly $25 million to maneuver. As he puts it: “If you do a Brian O’Neill extension in a similar way to how I just built it, that’s easy-peasy. Now you have money to do a lot of other things.” The episode is a masterclass in cap literacy and a compelling roadmap for what Teasley’s first major roster decisions could look like.
Key Points:
- Brian O’Neill — Projected 3-year, $72M deal ($24M AAV). “Dan Moore Jr. got 20 million a year from the Titans, and he’s a bang average tackle. If we give O’Neill just a little bit more than that for a fringe top five right tackle in football, yeah, that seems like good business to me.” Reduces his 2026 cap hit from $23.1M to just over $8M.
- Jordan Addison — Projected 3-year, $82.5M deal ($27.5M AAV). “Addison has already shown that he has wide receiver one traits, wide receiver one ability.” Jamison Williams got $80M after two poor years and one good one — Addison, says Forness, is the better receiver.
- Jalen Redmond — Projected 3-year, $48M deal ($16M AAV). “He looks like the next star defensive tackle in Minnesota.” As a restricted free agent, the Vikings hold significant leverage — including the ability to demand a first-round pick if another team poaches him.
- Kyler Murray — Projected 4-year, $140M extension ($35M AAV), structured after the 2026 season. “You already have a proof of concept of what he is. Now you’re asking him to just come in and essentially prove that he is what they think he is.” J.J. McCarthy is specifically excluded from extension projections due to insufficient sample size. (This would take place at the end of the season as not to cost the Vikings offset money to the Cardinals.)
- Cap Outlook — After all four extensions, the Vikings still project ~$25M in 2027 cap space. “Everything has a ripple effect. One domino goes down, another one falls.”
- Draft & GM philosophy — Forness points to Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s failure to land top-100 Day 2 picks as the root of the current cap crunch: “That is where you build a lot of the core of your team and the Vikings just didn’t do any of that.”
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If you want to understand why the Vikings will make the moves they make — before they make them — The Real Forno Show is your edge. Tyler Forness doesn’t just cover the Vikings; he models the math, reads the tape, and gives you the breakdown before the headlines drop. This is Vikings 1st & SKOL, part of the Fans First Sports Network, and it’s exactly the kind of content Minnesota fans have been starving for.
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Tyler Forness @TheRealForno of Vikings 1st & SKOL @Vikings1stSKOL and A to Z Sports @AtoZSportsNFL, with Dave Stefano @Luft_Krigare producing this Vikings 1st & SKOL production, the @RealFornoShow. Podcasts partnered with Fans First Sports Network @FansFirstSN.
So here’s the question for you:
If you’re Nolan Teasley, which extension do you make first — locking up Brian O’Neill on the offensive line, betting on Jordan Addison’s upside, securing Jalen Redmond before he prices himself out, or waiting to see what Kyler Murray gives you before committing $140 million? Drop your answer in the comments.
