Vikings offensive lineman Nick Easton has signed his second-round restricted free agent tender, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). Easton will now be paid $2.914MM for the 2018 campaign.
Minnesota and Easton have mutual interest in hammering out a long-term agreement, tweets Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pionner Press. Easton won’t hit unrestricted free agency until next spring, so the Vikings have plenty of time to work out an extension.
The Vikings have invested heavily in their offensive line over the past year, as they inked free agent tackles Riley Reiff and Mike Remmers while deploying a third-round pick on Pat Elflein, who became the club’s starting center in his rookie season. Easton, a former undrafted free agent, spent most of his 2017 time at left guard, and played 92% of Minnesota’s offensive snaps overall. Pro Football Focus ranked the 25-year-old as the No. 58 guard among 77 qualifiers a year ago.
Easton was one of 14 NFL restricted free agents to be tendered at the second-round level. There was no rush for Easton to ink his tender, as RFAs have until April 20 to work out offer sheets with other clubs. However, it was unlikely that any NFL team would have been willing to sacrifice a second-round pick in order to land Easton.