Ex-Packer Jennings agrees to five-year deal with Vikings
Former Green Bay wide receiver Greg Jennings agreed to a contract Friday with Packers' rivals, the Minnesota Vikings, who reportedly agreed to pay him $47.5 million over five years.
"I want to bring to the table a standard level of play that will be great, that will give our quarterback the best chance to win," Jennings said Friday night in a press conference from Vikings headquarters that was televised by the NFL Network.
Jennings is expected to be the Vikings' No. 1 receiver after the team traded Percy Harvin to Seattle for a first-round pick and two other draft picks this week. Although Harvin denied it upon arriving in Seattle, he was reported to have issues with the Vikings young quarterback, Christian Ponder.
Vikings coach Leslie Frasier, who reportedly endured emotional and physical hardship with Harvin, spoke highly of Jennings as both a player and a person.
"Without question this upgrades the calibre of our football team and gives us a chance to compete," he said. "This really pumps some energy into our organization. We have tried to corral, to defend him for a number or years and now to have him on our football team is something we are excited about. He brings high character and is a committed athlete. He will add to our locker room."
Jennings, 29, and has 425 receptions for 6,537 yards and 53 touchdowns since being drafted 52nd overall by the Packers in 2006.
Jennings is coming off his least productive season in seven seasons in Green Bay. Hamstring injuries and groin surgery limited him to eight games and five starts, with a career-low 36 receptions for 366 yards and four touchdowns.
Jennings allowed that he already looks forward to playing against the Packers, but pointed out he is not the first to leave Green Bay and join the rival Vikings. The most notable recent transfer was quarterback Brett Favre.
"I have the utmost respect for the Green Bay Packers," Jennings said. "They started my career, gave me my first opportunity, so I am very appreciative of that. But it is a business, and this has happened before. I am not the first Packer player to jump on this side."
