Vikings Sign A Free Agent Tight End
Adam Warwas
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The Minnesota Vikings added to their haul on Friday by signing free agent tight end Brian Leonhardt, according to his Twitter account.
Leonhardt turns 26 in April and is listed at 6′ 5″ and 255 pounds. He is a native of Minnesota and played his college career at Bemidji State University.
The deal is of the one-year variety and totals $600,000 without any guarantees attached to it, according to the Pioneer Press. This presumably makes Leonhardt an insurance policy, or even a short-term solution, in the event that tight end Rhett Ellison starts the 2016 regular season on the PUP list.
Ellison also signed a one-year deal earlier this month, but the blocking tight end suffered a torn patellar tendon in the final regular season game of 2015, and a realistic expectation for his return to NFL action is currently an unknown.
Leonhardt played part of last season under San Francisco’s tight ends coach Tony Sparano, who is now employed by the Vikings as their offensive line coach.
If the Vikings decide to expend a draft pick on the tight end position in the upcoming NFL Draft, then there could be a considerable training camp competition in the making for the third spot behind starter Kyle Rudolph and the promising young MyCole Pruitt.