Facing a June 15 deadline for signing his first-round tender before the number plummets to 110 percent of his 2009 base salary, Vikings defensive end Ray Edwards has done the smart thing.
The team has announced via its website that Edwards has, as predicted last week by Judd Zulgad of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, signed his one-year offer, locking Edwards in at $2.521 million for the coming season. If Edwards had failed to sign the tender by June 15, the team could have reduced his offer all the way down to $1.1 million.
Edwards had boycotted all offseason workouts. He has explained that his frustration attaches not to the team but to the rules of the uncapped year, which prevented him from becoming an unrestricted free agent. Given his performance in the 2009 postseason, he likely would have cashed in via a long-term deal, or he would have received $12.398 million as the team’s franchise player.
So while $2.521 million represents a hefty annual pay rate, the number pales in comparison to what might have been.
His long-term future remains undecided. With Jared Allen already receiving a ton of money, the Vikings may decide to go with a far cheaper option in Everson Griffin, a fourth-round rookie out of USC.