It continues to be a busy day for the Minnesota Vikings. Fresh on the heels of finalizing the Donovan McNabb trade, the Vikings have signed what appears to be the replacement for Pat Williams.
According to various reports, former Saints NT Remi Ayodele (seriously, Vikes, it’s okay to sign a guy with an easy name to spell any time you want, just sayin’) has agreed to a contract reportedly worth $9 million over three years.
Ayodele has started 29 games over the last two seasons with the Saints, and has registered 39 tackles and 2.5 sacks over that time frame. According to this tweet from Vikings beat guy Tom Pelissero, Pro Football Focus has him rated as only the 50th ranked DT in the NFL, but 25th against the run, which is an area the Vikings need to address.
The Vikings also need to add a WR due to the Seahawks signing of Sidney Rice last night. Currently, the two biggest names that are tied to the Vikings right now are Packer WR James Jones (see, now THAT’S a name that’s easy to spell) and former Browns and Jets WR Braylon Edwards. Both have reputations as guys that tend to drop balls, but as the #3 or 4 WR for the Packers, Jones had career highs in catches, yards, and TD’s last year (50, 679, and 5).
Edwards has had a troubled off the field career, but has been a farily productive guy on it. His best year was with the Browns in 2007, where he was an All-Pro and had 80 catches, almost 1300 receiving yards, and 16 TD’s. Last year, playing for the Browns and Jets, Edwards still managed over 900 yards receiving and 7 TD’s.
The Vikings still have not signed any of their draft picks, but most are reportedly in town, and negotiations will be conducted with them starting tomorrow, according to sources.