The Minnesota Vikings agreed to a new contract with safety Andrew Sendejo, who was slated to be a free agent.
NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported Saturday the deal is for four years and is worth $16 million, per a source involved in the process.
Sendejo started 13 games at safety last season, but struggled.
Coach Mike Zimmer was adamant at the NFL Scouting Combine he wanted an upgrade alongside star safety Harrison Smith.
"I think that if Harrison Smith was paired with a guy that had some other qualities, we could allow Harrison to be more of an impactful player," Zimmer said at the time. "I think Harrison can be more impactful if he had the right kind of guy next to him."
Sendejo ranked as the 78th safety out of 88 in 2015 by Pro Football Focus in 786 snaps. By contrast, Smith was PFF's No. 2 overall player at the position.
While his play last season, along with Zimmer's blunt assessment, suggested the Vikings would look for an upgrade, $4 million per year is the going rate for a starting safety. The money indicates Sendejo will have the inside track to win the starting job and could take the Vikes out of the running for big-name safeties. Rapoport noted that the Vikings were linked to Bengals free-agent George Iloka, one of the hotter safeties entering the market next week.
Sendejo was an adequate sub in injury situation and a core special teams player the past few season. At the very least, safety a position Minnesota should look to improve during the draft, if they can't upgrade in free agency.
