The Vikings and wide receiver Stefon Diggs have reached agreement on a hefty new deal, according to Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune. The five-year extension is worth $72MM, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The deal includes $40MM in guarantees and can be worth up to $81M in total with incentives.
Diggs made his case for a new deal in 2017 as he caught eight touchdown passes, tying him for the team lead with tight end Kyle Rudolph. Meanwhile, his 64 catches and 849 receiving yards were good for second on the team, despite missing two regular season contests. Diggs, for his part, has been vocal about his desire to stay with the Vikings.
“I want to be here. I love being here,” Diggs said. “I love being a part of the organization. They took a chance on me early on so I love it here as far as where we’re at. … Hopefully, we can get some things done and we’ll see how it goes.”
The $14MM/year deal may sound exorbitant for a player who has yet to top 1,000 yards, but the wide receiver market has exploded and this is in line with Diggs’ expected haul in free agency. There’s certainly some risk on the team’s part as he has been hampered by injuries throughout his career. Diggs has not missed significant time as a pro, but he has dealt with groin issues in each of the last two seasons. He also said he was “never the same” after suffering a groin injury in Week 4 and his knee and hip have also given him problems.
The Vikings have worked hard in recent months to keep their young core together. Since last July, Minnesota has locked up Everson Griffen, Linval Joseph, Xavier Rhodes, Eric Kendricks, Danielle Hunter, and now Diggs. Last, but not least, is linebacker Anthony Barr, and it might not be long before they sign him to a fresh contract.
It’s pretty impressive that they’ve gotten all their guys (plus probably Barr) after signing Cousins. I’m sure their future cap sheet will be pretty ugly but it seems worth it.
Yeah, unless the cap continues to go up exorbitantly every year, the Vikings have some problems in the not-too-distant-future. Signing a not-top-10 QB to a GOAT deal is the capstone of it.
I don’t like this deal for team purple very much either. Diggs is hurt as much as Nick Perry. 70 mil for a guy who’s going to play in 12 games a year (if they’re lucky) and be less than 100% for another 4, is not worth WR1 money.
Based on stats Cousin’s has been a top 10 QB and that was on the dumpster fire that is the Redskins.
The Vikings won’t have any future problems as they really don’t need to add any more talent to their core.
That is the very quickest way to watch a roster go to seed. I hope you are running the Vikings personnel department!
A lot of money for a guy who’s up and down
Terribad contract from the moment the ink dries..
The best front office in football!
Maybe not the best but certainly better than the one we have in Chicago. The Vikings rarely waste time with phony posturing like some teams do. They reward their players that produce and that elevates team morale.
Terrible contract. For a guy who’s never been 1000 yard receiver?
He will this year. 340 of them against my Lions
64 catches for 849 yards. That is 13.26 yds per catch. AB – 15.1 yds last year and 13.5 yds for career. JJ – 16.4 yds last year and 15.5 yds per season. AB has over 100 catches a year and JJ is in the high 80’s every year. Diggs is top 10 WR and will probably be better this year.
LOL. Top 10? Nope.
Diggs is not a top 10 WR
Yet again props to trade rumors for another great picture
A bit of sarcasm right? Looks like a bad photoshop job to me. Only fan actually looking at the field is some bald guy in a suit who probably sells insurance. Even the photographer with the telephoto lens seems to have no interest in getting a shot of the on field action.
People saying this is a bad contract are either jealous of the Vikings roster or wanted Diggs to sign with their team next year.
…or they think it’s a stupid deal for the team.