Vikings land a big playmaker in WR Berrian

Bernard Berrian was never considered the No. 1 receiver in his four seasons with the Chicago Bears despite the fact he felt he was "definitely prepared for it." He won't have to worry about lacking that designation any longer.

The Vikings made sure of that Saturday night when they signed the 27-year-old free agent to a $42 million, six-year contract that includes $16 million in guarantees. Berrian, who will get $23 million over the first three years, reportedly will become the fourth-highest-paid receiver in the NFL.

Not bad for a guy who has never had a 1,000-yard season or made a Pro Bowl appearance. Berrian, however, was considered one of the top receivers on the market. Chicago offered him $25 million over five years. This came after he had a career-high 71 receptions in 2007. That was 17 more than Vikings team leader Bobby Wade, a former teammate of Berrian's in Chicago.

"We were just missing syncing up the passing game, and obviously good players help you to improve that," Vikings coach Brad Childress said.

"We have the running game where we want, and you don't want to be one-dimensional in this league," Childress said.

Berrian, who also drew interest from Tennessee and Oakland, became the third player the Vikings have added since free agency began late Thursday. Safety Madieu Williams (six years, $33 million, nearly $13 million guaranteed) and fullback Thomas Tapeh (five years, $6 million, $1.2 million guaranteed) signed Friday as the team showed its willingness to spend the $37 million it had in salary cap space.

The speedy Berrian was at the top of the Vikings' free-agent board because of his ability to stretch the field. (He runs about a 4.5 in the 40-yard dash.) That is something the Vikings have been lacking. The recently traded Troy Williamson had speed but couldn't be counted on to catch the ball. Berrian has had a few issues with drops but nothing like Williamson.

Berrian's presence means opposing defenses will be forced to respect the Vikings' vertical passing game and thus can't consistently put eight men in the box in order to stop Pro Bowl running back Adrian Peterson. That, of course, became a major issue in 2007.

"I just saw the upside that was here going on with the team," Berrian said at a news conference Saturday night. "I think just the key part they were missing was a receiver out there to take some pressure off of that running game. If you get both of those parts added in there, it's hard to stop. Which one you are going to choose? ... Pick your poison is basically what is going on."

The addition of Berrian might not be the last change in the receiving corps. Indications are that the team has an interest in New England free agent Jabar Gaffney. It's uncertain what that might mean for Vikings free agent Robert Ferguson.

Rick Spielman, Vikings vice president of player personnel, said the team has no free-agent visits scheduled for today. That will give team officials a chance to take a collective breath after two busy days. About the only disappointment was Cincinnati defensive end Justin Smith didn't end up visiting the Vikings after deciding to sign with the 49ers.

"This all starts from the ownership and the Wilfs' commitment to giving us the resources we need to try to get the top players in here," Spielman said. "Without that commitment from the ownership we couldn't do what we do. That's why we said down at the [NFL Scouting] Combine we wanted to be very aggressive and kind of set your sight on some guys and try to go out and get those guys. We were lucky to get three of them so far. But we'll continue to work."

The Vikings, coming off an 8-8 season, have been far more successful in free agency than they were a year ago, when their top receiver target, Kevin Curtis, took less money to sign with Philadelphia. This time the Vikings put the full-court press on Berrian -- they sent owner Zygi Wilf's plane to northern California to bring him back on Friday -- and it worked.

Berrian was scheduled to leave Saturday for Oakland so he could visit the Raiders, but that never happened. Instead, Berrian met with offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and receivers coach George Stewart among others while agent, Drew Rosenhaus, negotiated with the Vikings.

As for the Vikings' quarterback situation, and the fact that most assume -- without absolute certainty -- that Tarvaris Jackson will end up the starter, Berrian didn't have any concerns.

Berrian expressed confidence in what he was told about Jackson. "You can't do anything if you don't have someone to get you the ball or if you're not getting open in the first place," Berrian said.

"They assured me there was definitely going to be stability here. I didn't have to worry about that, or anything of that nature."