(Eagan, MN) — The Minnesota Vikings have secured yet another
core player with a long-term contract, signing wide receiver Stefon
Diggs to a five-year extension and moving the star of the
”Minneapolis Miracle” pass into the NFL’s top 10 highest-paid
players at his position.
Stefon Diggs and the “Minneapolis Miracle”
Diggs has yet to post a 1,000-yard or 100-catch season, but his
ability was on full display when he turned a sideline catch into a
61-yard touchdown as time ran out to lift the Vikings to victory
over New Orleans in last season’s playoffs. He formed a prolific
tandem with Adam Thielen last year, helping Case Keenum stabilize
the passing game after Sam Bradford was injured, and over his first
three seasons has been one of the biggest steals of the 2015 draft.
”I love it here. I truly do, and I’m just happy I’ll be here for a
while now,” Diggs said after practice Tuesday. ”That’s why I want
to play for them for selecting me in the fifth round. It was a
bumpy road that day, and I just remember getting a call, and they
gave me a chance. They believed in me, and they won, and going
forward they pushed me to be where I am now.”
Now the Vikings have a new quarterback in Kirk Cousins, who was
elated by the news that Diggs is under contract through 2023.
”What I most like is he loves football and loves to come and work,
because as a quarterback it can be miserable if you’re out here
with someone who is here to just get a paycheck and leave,”
Cousins said. ”He wants to work.”
The Vikings offense was at the new practice facility on Monday
night past 9 p.m. working on playbook installation.
”I’ve been a part of some locker rooms where by 9 o’clock, some of
your guys are sleeping in the back row, not taking notes, not
paying attention. They’re basically checked out, texting or
whatever,” Cousins said. ”That’s not him. That’s not these guys.”
The new deal is valued at $72 million plus an additional $9 million
in possible incentives, according to a person with knowledge of the
contract who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of
anonymity because of the sensitivity of the details. Diggs, who
will play the final season of his rookie deal for the original base
salary of slightly more than $1.9 million, received a $15 million
signing bonus.
”He’s been a good person off the field. He’s been a good person on
the field as far as that,” head coach Mike Zimmer said. ”When he
messes up, he knows. One time I had him in my office, and I asked
him … a question, and he said, `Now, coach, you know you knew the
answer when you asked the question.’ He’s a smart guy.”
Since Cousins signed his fully guaranteed $84 million contract in
March, the Vikings have signed linebacker Eric Kendricks, defensive
end Danielle Hunter and now Diggs to multi-year deals. The Vikings
now have Cousins, Diggs, Thielen, running back Dalvin Cook, left
tackle Riley Reiff, right guard Mike Remmers and center Pat Elflein
all under team control through at least the 2020 season. On
defense, the same goes for Hunter, Kendricks, defensive end Everson
Griffen, defensive tackle Linval Joseph, cornerback Xavier Rhodes
and safety Harrison Smith. That’s a lot of star power to squeeze
under the salary cap, with linebacker Anthony Barr the only
prominent player with an expiring contract this year.
”Continuity, to me, is very important, and it’s not a luxury we
have in the NFL these days,” Cousins said. ”There is a lot of
change year in and year out, so I’ve come to expect that and
understand you can’t use that as an excuse.”
Diggs has come a long way since his father, Aron Diggs, died of
heart failure in 2008. He told his son in his final months to make
sure to look after his mother and two brothers, and for Diggs this
new deal was the consummation of that directive.
”I’m happy that I can look at my mom and smile and tell her that
everything is going to be OK,” Diggs said. ”I’m just very
thankful for everybody involved.”