Minnesota Vikings sign DL Smith Vilbert

Smith Vilbert's three-year, $3.1M deal at roughly $1M AAV earns a fair-deal Contract Value Index (CVI) grade — not a steal, but a lean, low-risk signing that fits the economics of a depth piece on the defensive line. At that salary floor, Minnesota isn't paying for a starter; they're acquiring roster filler with upside ceiling, the kind of contract that only becomes a problem if the front office misreads Vilbert's role. The CVI holds steady at C+, which tracks for a signing of this profile — serviceable, unspectacular, and entirely appropriate for a player who will need to earn snaps rather than assume them. With no guaranteed money reported in the data, the Vikings carry virtually zero downside exposure here; if Vilbert doesn't develop, he's a cut candidate with no dead cap consequence. The three-year length is slightly aggressive for a depth signing — most teams keep these arrangements shorter to preserve roster flexibility — but the negligible AAV neutralizes that structural concern almost entirely. For a Vikings team sitting at 9-8 and holding a tenuous NFC Wild Card position heading into the offseason, adding low-cost defensive line depth without cap damage is exactly the kind of quiet, disciplined roster management that keeps a thin depth chart functional without handcuffing the front office on bigger moves.