Given contract extension, Sullivan wants to reward Vikings' faith
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- With two years left on his contract, center John Sullivan's future with the Minnesota Vikings didn't seem to be in question or in need of resolving.
Sullivan, one of Minnesota's offensive leaders and a stalwart who's only missed three games in six years as a starter, wants to finish his career with the team. The Vikings were receptive to an extension, and the two sides agreed to a one-year extension that keeps Sullivan tied to Minnesota through the 2017 season.
"When the team was receptive, yeah, it was definitely something we were focused on doing," Sullivan said. "We had two years left, obviously, but if you get to the end of this season then you're staring at the last year of a contract, second contract, in the face.
"Obviously there's a business side of football, and this keeps everything amicable. The Vikings put faith in me. I know what I need to do in return."
Sullivan, the fourth-longest-tenured member of the Vikings, was working out with most of the team Monday at Winter Park as part of the voluntary offseason workout program. Getting another year -- which will equal 10 years with Minnesota in 2017 -- continues Sullivan's role with the Vikings.
A sixth-round draft pick in 2008 that became a starter in his second year, Sullivan had already agreed to one extension with the team, agreeing to five more years with the team late in the 2011 season.
"My response to situations like that have been to always come in here and try to work even harder because I know what the business side of this means," Sullivan said. "They put their money and their faith in players they believe in. So I want to lead by example and show younger guys that if you work hard, you'll get taken care of."
Sullivan had watched in 2008 as Matt Birk reached the final year of his contract without an extension. Birk missed organized team activities, showed up for the mandatory minicamp and then played out the final year of his contract before signing with the Baltimore Ravens as a free agent. Sullivan replaced Birk as the starter.
"Being able to come to an agreement with the Vikings just puts that off another year," Sullivan said of facing a contract year. "Hopefully, the extension keeps me here through the 10th year of my career, and my goal is to retire as a Minnesota Viking. I don't want to do that anytime soon. I hope this extension isn't the end of my time here. But it definitely puts it off and just lets you focus on the 2015 season."
Sullivan is the anchor in the middle of a line that will look to bounce back from a down and injury-riddled 2014 season. Sullivan didn't miss a game last year but did miss time with a concussion. Right guard Brandon Fusco and right tackle Phil Loadholt will return after their seasons were cut short from torn pectoral muscles.
The team will also be starting a new left guard after Charlie Johnson was released. In-house options appear to be veteran Joe Berger and second-year draft pick David Yankey.
"There are always challenges in terms of building chemistry," Sullivan said. "We'll be able to get whoever it is in there up to speed. And if it's Joe Berger, we won't skip a beat. He's been around forever. We have very capable guys in terms of veterans with Berg, Yankey's in here working hard, we'll see what happens here this weekend and the draft, and we'll go from there."
A busy offseason: Second-year starting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was also in attendance working out. Bridgewater talked about his offseason of strength training, joining tight end Kyle Rudolph and several teammates for workouts in California and attending running back Adrian Peterson's birthday party.
Pictures of the event, of course, showed Peterson riding a camel.
Bridgewater was asked if he rode a camel. He paused and laughed for a moment.
"No, I actually didn't ride a camel, but we had a pretty good time," Bridgewater said.
Several teammates spoke about wanting Peterson back, as his status is somewhat in doubt heading into this week's draft. Teammates said they've kept in touch with Peterson but refused to offer any insight as to what the running back is thinking.
Bridgewater also has another big event coming up. He's been named the Grand Marshal of the Kentucky Derby parade. Bridgewater said he worked the ticket booth one year for the derby while in school at Louisville.
"I thought it would be a great idea to go back and (I) have so many memories there," Bridgewater said. "It's going to be fun to be able to ride around a car or something like that at the parade and also to attend the event."
Waiting on options: Minnesota is facing a May 3 deadline on whether to extend the fifth-year option on 2012 first-round picks Matt Kalil and Harrison Smith. As first-round picks, Kalil and Smith signed four-year contracts with a team option for adding a fifth year to the deal.
The Vikings haven't announced their intentions on Kalil or Smith, despite little in the way of guarantees on the fifth-year option.
Smith, in particular, would seem a candidate to get the extension or possibly sign a longer-term deal with Minnesota. Smith has become one of the Vikings' top defensive players. He had 92 tackles and a team-leading five interceptions last season.
"I just show up, control what I can control," Smith said. "I let my agent and the guys upstairs handle that . . . really haven't had any discussions (with me), I just show up to work."
Heading into this week's draft, Smith said he likes to watch the draft and see who will be his future teammates. Curiously, Smith said he still has some of the comments written about him when he was picked No. 29 overall by Minnesota in 2012.
"I still have stuff saved in my phone, from people who wrote stuff about me back then," Smith said. "Not that I'm going to do anything with it, but I just like to look at it. . . . I'll take the high road. Like to look at it for motivation."
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