The Vikings have signed DT Ellis Wyms and LB Dallas Sartz.  The 28-year old Wyms played in 13 games last season for the Seahawks and he made 11 tackles and had 2 sacks.  He has now played in 79 games in his NFL career and he has made 131 tackles, defensed 4 passes, has 16.5 sacks and he has forced 4 fumbles.  Dallas Sartz is a big linebacker at 6′5″, 240 pounds but he didn’t play as a rookie last season for the Redskins.  These were both nice low risk signings as Wyms and Sartz could help with depth on the Vikings’ Defense.

The Vikings have signed linebacker Derrick Pope.  The 25-year old will battle for a starting job in Minnesota.  He played in 16 games with the Dolphins last season and he made 64 tackles, defensed 3 passes and had 3 interceptions.  Pope has now played in 55 games in his NFL career and he has made 149 tackles, defensed 3 passes, has 2 sacks and 2 interceptions.  Signing Pope was a good move for the Vikings.

The Vikings have signed RB Maurice Hicks.  Hicks will be the #3 RB on the Vikings and he likely will also serve as their kickoff returner.  Hicks played in 16 games with the 49ers last season and he carried the ball 21 times for 117 yards (5.6 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 14 passes for 86 yards (6.1 avg).  Hicks has now played in 55 games in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 205 times for 869 yards (4.2 ypc) with 6 TD runs.  He also has caught 55 passes for 424 yards (7.7 avg) with 1 TD grab.

Hicks got a workout last season on kickoff returns because of the 49ers being so bad of a football team.  He returned 63 kickoffs for 1,502 yards (23.8 avg).  He has now returned 185 kickoffs for 4,242 yards (22.9 avg) in his NFL career.  This was a nice signing for the Vikings.

The Vikings have signed WR Bernard Berrian to a 6-year, $42 million dollar contract.  Berrian played in 16 games last season for the Bears and he caught 71 passes for 951 yards (13.4 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  he has now played in 58 games in his NFL career and he has caught 150 passes for 2,197 yards (14.6 avg) with 13 TD grabs.  Signing Berrian gives the Vikings a legit deep threat plus they took him away from the Bears making this an outstanding move for them.

The Vikings have signed safety Madieu Williams to a 6-year, $34 million dollar contract.  Williams is an enforcer against the run which means he should fit right in.  He played in 13 games last season for the Bengals and he made 74 tackles, defensed 7 passes, had 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble and he intercepted 2 passes.  Williams has now played in 49 games in his NFL career and he has made 290 tackles, defensed 34 passes, has 4 sacks, forced 3 fumbles and intercepted 9 passes they he returned 126 yards (14.0 avg) including one that he returned for a TD.  Williams was a solid addition to the back of the Vikings Defense.