<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Vikings sign HendersonFriday, December 15th, 2006by Judd ZulgadVikings linebacker E.J. Henderson signed a five-year contract with the team on Friday that will keep him from becoming an unrestricted free agent this offseason. It?s believed the contract is worth more than $25 million. The deal includes $10 million in signing and other bonuses.Henderson earned the extension by putting together his best NFL season. In his fourth year, Henderson leads the Vikings with 108 tackles and also has three sacks, two interceptions, four passes broken up, four tackles for loss, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and 15 quarterback hurries.Henderson has spent the past two seasons playing weak-side linebacker for the Vikings and has thrived in defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin?s ?Tampa-2″ scheme.Kevin Poston, Henderson?s agent, said contract talks intensified this week. ?There really was no reason not to,? get this deal done, Poston said. ?They liked him, he liked them, the number was fair. ? What E.J. was seeking was a fair market value deal.?Poston declined to give any of the contract figures.The signing continues an unusually active stretch for the Vikings in re-signing their veteran players. The team has not negotiated many in-season deals in recent years, preferring to cut off talks if they have not led to agreements by opening day.But beginning with the $48.5 million deal they gave left tackle Bryant McKinnie on Sept. 8, the Vikings have re-signed four pending free agents. Long snappper Cullen Loeffler (five years, $3.1 million), tight end/fullback Jeff Dugan (five years, $4.25 million) and Henderson all have agreed to deals.That flurry leaves the Vikings with a more manageable offseason. Linebacker Napoleon Harris (unrestricted) and defensive end Darrion Scott (restricted) are now their most prominent pending free agents. It?s unclear where either player stands in the Vikings? plans.Harris has started all but two games this season, but the Vikings now have two of their three starters ? Henderson and Ben Leber ? signed to long-term deals. They also are expecting first-round draft pick Chad Greenway to return from a torn ACL in time for training camp, so the question becomes: Will the Vikings pencil in Greenway as a starter, or do they need Harris for insurance?Based on the order of their signings ? Harris said this week his agents have not been contacted ? it appears the Vikings haven?t fully decided his future.Scott, meanwhile, is the team?s leading sack man (5.5) and is versatile enough to play end or tackle. But as with Harris, the question will become whether the Vikings want to invest heavily in a position where they have a former first-round pick (Erasmus James) on track to return from an injury (ACL) next summer? In Scott?s case, the Vikings can offer him a one-year tender that would give them a chance to match any offer he receives, or else receive a draft pick in return.Another major contract looming on the horizon is defensive tackle Kevin Williams, who has returned his play to a Pro Bowl level. Williams can be an unrestricted free agent after the 2007 season, but most NFL teams ? the Vikings included ? prefer to get a contract done long before that point. As of yet, however, there has been no known progress toward an extension for Williams</div>
