Vikings exercise fifth-year options on Kalil, Smith

Matt Kalil and Harrison Smith are tied to the Vikings for two more seasons.

Ending what little suspense there was, Minnesota announced Monday it exercised the fifth-year options on Kalil and Smith, first-round picks in the 2012 NFL Draft.

Kalil was drafted with the fourth overall selection in 2012 after the Vikings traded down one spot with the Cleveland Browns, who selected running back Trent Richardson. Minnesota then traded back into the first round to pick Smith 29th overall.

The new collective bargaining agreement established in 2011 set a standard for four-year contracts for each drafted player. Teams hold a fifth-year option on all first-round picks. The deadline for announcing the option was Monday.

Kalil, who was named to the Pro Bowl as a rookie, has started every game at left tackle the past three seasons but has struggled at times the past two seasons since suffering a knee injury in 2013. His confidence waned last year as he returned to health. He was penalized nine times in the first 11 games and allowed 11 sacks, according to Pro Football Focus.

The Vikings stood by their beleaguered left tackle and Kalil had just three penalties and allowed just one sack, per Pro Football Focus, over the final five games.

Meanwhile, Smith has grown into a key member of the Vikings' defense.

Smith was third on the team with 92 tackles and led Minnesota with five interceptions while playing all 16 games for the second time in three seasons. He has 10 interceptions -- fourth among all safeties since he entered the league -- and 23 pass deflections in 40 career games. With three interceptions returned for touchdowns, he's tied for the most in Vikings history.

The fifth-year option for top-10 picks such as Kalil equates to the equal of the transition tag, which is the average salary of the top-10 paid players at their respective positions. The rest of the first-round selections, including Smith, receive the average of the third- through 25th-highest paid players at their position.

The options aren't guaranteed, so either player could be released before the fifth-year contract kicked in. The only guarantee is for injury if the player is unable to play in 2016.

Last season, in the first year of the new rules affecting former first-round draft picks, Minnesota declined the option on quarterback Christian Ponder's contract. Ponder, the 12th overall pick in 2011, became a free agent this offseason and signed with the Oakland Raiders.

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