Vikings sign former Terp Diggs to five-year extension

EAGAN, MINN. —The Minnesota Vikings have secured yet another core player with a long-term contract, signing wide receiver Stefon Diggs to a five-year extension and moving the star of the “Minneapolis Miracle” pass into the NFL’s top 10 highest-paid players at his position.

Diggs, drafted in the fifth round in 2015 out of Maryland, has yet to post a1,000-yard or 100-catch season, but his ability was on full display when he turned a sideline catch into a 61-yard touchdown as time ran out to lift the Vikings to victory over New Orleans in last season’s playoffs. He formed a prolific tandem with Adam Thielen last year, helping Case Keenum stabilize the passing game after Sam Bradford was injured, and over his first three seasons has been one of the biggest steals of the 2015 draft.

“I love it here. I truly do, and I’m just happy I’ll be here for a while now,” Diggs said after practice Tuesday. “That’s why I want to play for them for selecting mein the fifth round. It was a bumpy road that day, and I just remember getting a call, and they gave me a chance. They believed in me, and they won, and going forward they pushed me to be where I am now.”

Now the Vikings have a new quarterback in Kirk Cousins, whowaselatedbythe news that Diggs is under contract through 2023.

“What I most like is he loves football and loves to come and work, because as a quarterback it can be miserable if you’re out here with someone who is here to just get a paycheck and leave,” Cousins said. “He wants to work.”

The Vikings offense was at the new practice facility on Monday night past 9 p.m. working on playbook installation.

“I’ve been a part of some locker rooms where by 9 o’clock, some of your guys are sleeping in the back row, not taking notes, not paying attention. They’re basically checked out, texting or whatever,” Cousins said. “That’s not him. That’s not these guys.”

Thenewdeal is valued at $72 million plus an additional $9 million in possible incentives, according to a person with knowledge of the contract whospoketo TheAssociated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the details. Diggs, who will play the final season of his rookie deal for the original base salary of slightly more than $1.9 million, received a $15 million signing bonus.

“He’s been a good person off the field. He’s been a good person on the field as far as that,” head coach Mike Zimmer said. “When he messes up, he knows. One time I had him in my office, and I asked him a question, and he said, ‘Now, coach, you knowyouknewthe answer whenyouasked the question.’ He’s a smart guy.”

Diggs has come a long way since his father, Aron Diggs, died of heart failure in 2008. He told his son in his final months to make sure to look after his mother and two brothers, and for Diggs this new deal was the consummation of that directive.

“I’mhappythatIcanlookatmymomand smile and tell her that everything is going to be OK,” Diggs said. “I’m just very thankful for everybody involved.”