Vikings add Okudah, release Bradbury

EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings agreed to terms on a contract with cornerback Jeff Okudah on Tuesday, adding the third overall pick from the 2020 draft whose career has been sidetracked by injuries. Okudah was limited to six games last season for the Houston Texans. He suffered a hip injury while playing on special teams in the opener. Okudah played in 2023 for the Atlanta Falcons, who acquired him for a fifth-round draft pick in a trade with the Detroit Lions. He played in only 10 of a possible 33 games over his first two years with the Lions, hampered by hamstring, shoulder and Achilles tendon injuries. He tore the Achilles tendon in the 2021 opener and missed the entire season. Okudah, who played collegiately at Ohio State, was the first defensive back to crack the top three of the NFL draft since Shawn Springs was picked third by Seattle in 1997. Houston's Derek Stingley followed in 2022 at third overall. Okudah has two interceptions and 14 passes defensed in 44 career games. He likely will slot in the depth chart at cornerback behind Byron Murphy, Isaiah Rodgers and Mekhi Blackmon. The Vikings also agreed to terms on a contract with wide receiver Tim Jones, who primarily played on special teams for the Jacksonville Jaguars and appeared in all 17 games in each of the last three seasons. He went undrafted in 2021 out of Southern Mississippi and spent his rookie year on the Jags' practice squad. Vikings release Bradbury Minnesota released center Garrett Bradbury on Monday, a move prompted by the addition of four-time Pro Bowl pick Ryan Kelly in free agency last week. Bradbury, who will turn 30 in June, started all 18 games, including one in the playoffs, for the Vikings last season. After he was selected with the 18th overall pick in the first round out of North Carolina State in 2019, the highest the Vikings have ever drafted an interior offensive lineman, Bradbury made steady improvement over his six years with the team while making 88 of a possible 100 regular season starts. With a post-June 1 designation on the release, the Vikings cut $5.25 million off their salary cap charges. Kelly was targeted in an aggressive start to free agency by the Vikings that also fetched guard Will Fries and included defensive linemen Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave and cornerback Isaiah Rodgers. The Vikings added linebacker Eric Wilson and offensive tackle Justin Skule for more depth in a second wave.