Cornerback Patrick Peterson says he's taking pay cut to return to Vikings

Patrick Peterson will be back in Minnesota for a second season with the Vikings.

The team announced it had agreed to terms with the cornerback late Wednesday.

Peterson said on his "All Things Covered" podcast he would sign a one-year deal to return to the team, which signed the cornerback to a one-year, $8 million deal in free agency last year. The deal will pay Peterson $4 million this year, with up to $1 million in incentives based on playing time and the Vikings making the playoffs.

The eight-time Pro Bowler missed four games last season — three because of a hamstring injury, one because of COVID-19 — but might have been the Vikings' most consistent cover corner when he was on the field.

"I'm going to stay put where I'm at," Peterson said on his podcast. "There's a good group of guys in the locker room, Harrison [Smith] being one of the ones that I'm very, very close to. ... I just felt it was right to be there, grind with those guys and try to all come together for that common goal."

Peterson said at the end of the season he wanted to be back in Minnesota for a second year, though the Vikings' decision to fire Rick Spielman and Mike Zimmer meant Peterson would have to see if new General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and coach Kevin O'Connell wanted him back. He said on his podcast he drew interest from the Bears, Bills, Colts, Commanders and Buccaneers. But his goal remained a second year with the Vikings, which is what he'll get now.

He'll receive a $1.5 million signing bonus, a fully-guaranteed $2 million base salary and up-to $500,000 in per-game roster bonuses in 2022. The Vikings added a 2023 void year to Peterson's deal, as they've done with many of their free agent contracts, to push $750,000 of cap costs into next year.

"I'm not trying to back up the Brink's truck any more, because I know I'm not 26, 25 any more," Peterson said on his podcast. "I just wanted to have a respectable contract."

In his return to Minnesota, Peterson will play for a new defensive coordinator in Ed Donatell, as part of a Vikings defense that will employ a 3-4 base defense for the first time since the 1980s. But the team's addition of defensive lineman Harrison Phillips, pass rusher Za'Darius Smith and inside linebacker Jordan Hicks — Peterson's former teammate in Arizona — has the 31-year-old corner ready to come back.

"Last year, we couldn't put it all together in certain situations," Peterson said on his podcast. "But we got even better, I believe, in the offseason by adding a great offensive mind in Kevin [O'Connell] and a pass rusher [Za'Darius Smith] to help Danielle [Hunter]."

Thielen's deal saves Vikings $5.2M

The new contract wide receiver Adam Thielen signed earlier this month will save the Vikings $5.2 million in salary cap space for 2022, while raising Thielen's cap numbers in 2023 and 2024 before a void year in 2025.

The terms of Thielen's deal, which became fully available on Wednesday, will drop his base salary from $11.8 million to $4.25 million this year, while he gets a $9 million signing bonus that can be spread over the next four years. He can earn up to $1 million in roster bonuses this year — up from $500,000 in his old deal — and the number increases to $1.5 million in 2023 before jumping to $2 million in 2024.

Thielen earns an extra $250,000 for 70 catches this year, $500,000 for 80 catches and an extra $1 million for 90 catches.

Additionally, he can boost his 2023 and 2024 base salaries by $800,000 if he hits 100 catches or 1,375 yards this season, as the Vikings restored incentives Thielen had in a deal he signed in 2019. If Thielen hits those numbers in both 2022 and 2023, his 2024 salary jumps by $1.6 million.

His cap number is already slated to be $19.96 million in 2023 and $21.65 million in 2024, when the receiver will be 34.

Davis gets $3 million with Vikings

Former Dolphins guard Jesse Davis got a one-year, $3 million deal with the Vikings, with a 2023 void year to spread out the cap effects of his $1.5 million signing bonus.

Davis will earn a fully-guaranteed $1.25 million base salary this season, as well as a $50,000 workout bonus, and has the opportunity to earn up to $200,000 in roster bonuses. He will count for $2.25 million against the cap this season, and $750,000 in 2023.