Vikings Ink Madieu Williams to 6-Year $33 Million Contract They'll Soon Regret

The Minnesota Vikings have made free agent safety Madieu Williams one of the NFL's highest paid safeties, agreeing to terms on a 6-year $33 million contract. The 26 year old safety cashed in during an atypical free agent year that is exceptionally thin at the position, and when the bulk of teams are flush with so much cap space that they are spending out of control. This is just the latest example of a team overpaying for average players, by about twice as much as they should.

Drafted as a 2nd round pick in 2004 out of Maryland, Williams has been a decent, but not spectactular contributor on the perpetually putrid defenses that the Cincinatti Bengals have had during the Marvin Lewis-coached era. Known for his coverage skills primarily, Bengals fans will remember Williams being a liability as a tackler, and will probably look forward to the team spending more draft picks to infuse the roster with some young defensive playmakers. If Cincinatti didn't make a play to re-sign their own starter from a notably weak secondary, that might be a good indication of his skill set and ultimate value.