Friday, February 29, 2008

Williams goes to Vikings

Several outlets are confirming the Vikings are giving Madieu $33 million for six years.

From ESPN.com:

An all-night negotiations session with the Minnesota Vikings produced a deal that has made Madieu Williams a formal Bengal and now one of the highest-paid safeties in the NFL.

Williams, 26, agreed to a six-year, $33 million contract Friday morning after his agent, Ken Zuckerman, and Minnesota officials worked through the night to get a deal done. As both sides spelled out the final language of the contract, Williams headed to the airport Friday morning for a flight to Minneapolis to sign the deal.

The contract tops Deon Grant's five-year, $31.8 million deal that was the highest of the free agent safety class of 2007. Williams was considered one of the top safeties in free agency this year.

Though his contract isn't as rich as the ones given Bob Sanders of the Colts or Troy Polamalu of the Steelers, it was fair and his presence fills a big need in the Vikings secondary.

Williams is known more for his coverage skills than his hitting, and the Vikings wanted to shore up some of their pass-coverage deficiencies.

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