The Vikings have signed 27-year old kicker Rhys Lloyd.  He will likely serve as nothing more than a kickoff specialist saving 35-year old Ryan Longwell’s leg in 2010.  Lloyd kicked in all 16 games for the Panthers last season and he averaged 66.7 yards per kickoff with 21 touchbacks.  Lloyd has now played in 35 games in his NFL career and he has averaged 67.0 yards per kickoff with 53 touchbacks.  This was a great signing for the Vikings as Lloyd will pin the opposition deep on their end of the field a lot in 2010.

The Vikings have re-signed 30-year old WR Greg Lewis to a 1-year deal.  Lewis played in 13 games for the Vikings last season and he caught 8 passes for 96 yards (12.0 avg) with a TD grab.  He has now played in 103 games in his NFL career and he has caught 135 passes for 1,795 yards (13.3 avg) with 8 TD grabs.  Lewis is a favorite of head coach Brad Childress as they spent a lot of time in Philly together but he is still a solid #4 or #5 WR so it was smart of the Vikings to bring him back.

The Vikings have signed 39-year old QB Brett Favre to a 2-year, $25 million dollar deal.  Favre played in all 16 games for the Jets last season and he completed 343 of 522 passes (65.7%) for 3,472 yards with 22 TD passes and 22 interceptions (81.0 QB Rating).  He also carried the football 21 times for 43 yards (2.0 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Favre has now played in 273 games in his NFL career and he has completed 5,720 of 9,280 passes (61.6%) for 65,127 yards with 464 TD passes and 310 INTs (85.4 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 576 times for 1,829 yards (3.2 ypc) with 14 TD runs in his career.  Favre is the all-time leader in TD passes, interceptions and passing yardage in the NFL.  The Vikings might have finally got themselves a QB that can get them back to the Super Bowl.  It also doesn’t hurt that Favre will get to play twice against his old team (the Packers) who are having issues with his signing.

The Vikings have signed WR/KR Glenn Holt to a 1-year deal.  Holt played in 15 games for the Bengals last season and he caught 3 passes for 26 yards (8.7 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He also returned 46 kickoffs for 1,110 yards (24.1 avg) last season for the Bengals.  The Vikings essentially signed Holt to help out with the special teams as he never has put up numbers as a WR.  Holt has now played in 42 games in his NFL career and he has caught 20 passes for 172 yards (8.6 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He has also returned 122 kickoffs for 2,961 yards (24.3 avg) with 1 TD return in his career.

The Vikings have signed 26-year old cornerback Karl Paymah to a 1-year contract.  Paymah played in all 16 games for the Broncos last season and he made 39 tackles, defensed 5 passes and had 1 interception.  He has now played in 60 games in his NFL career and he has made 101 tackles, defensed 12 passes and has 3 interceptions.  Paymah will likely compete for the nickel or dime CB job in the Vikings’ secondary in 2009 but his biggest role will be as an ace on special teams.