Ayodele began his career as an undrafted free agent and practice squad hand, but rose to become a starting tackle for the Saints during their Super Bowl year. Unfortunately for the Saints they had a ton of free agents to deal with this off-season and had to make tough choices. Ayodele was a guy they probably wanted to keep but it was just a numbers game.

The best news on Ayodele is that he’s a true nose tackle, just what the Vikings were looking for after deciding to part company with the under-producing and over-gripey Jimmy Kennedy. He’s looked upon as a solid, workmanlike player who will hold down his position. In other words he’s not exactly Pat Williams in his prime but he certainly sounds like an upgrade over what the Vikings had at NT going into the day.

We’ll wait to see the terms of this deal but I’m assuming the Vikings have given him four years. At 28, he sounds like a good long-term solution in the middle of the defensive line. Pat Williams may still be brought back for depth I suppose.

Update: Judd Zulgad reports that Ayodele’s deal is for 3 years at $9 million.

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Here’s some intrigue: one team interested in #Bears DT Anthony Adams? Minnesota Vikings. He would be good complement to Kevin Williams.

In a Sun-Times article earlier this month Jensen wrote of Anthony, “An NFC personnel executive said he expected ­Adams to draw ­interest from several teams because of his consistency and willingness to play nose tackle, an unglamorous position.”

Was a time not long ago when the Vikings were believed to be fairly set at defensive tackle, but that has changed. Pat Williams may or may not be brought back, and even if he is, he’s older than Methuselah. Letroy Guion is a good young player but not necessarily a nose tackle. Jimmy Kennedy could play the nose but his stock seems to have dropped after a disappointing 2010 and he could wind up a cap casualty. 2011 draft pick Christian Ballard could be in the mix but, at his size, he’s really not a future Big Pat either. And Fred Evans…is Fred Evans.

If the Vikings do pick up Adams, I think it will only be because they’re convinced Jimmy Kennedy is not the answer. Pat Williams may still be retained but even if he is, he’ll have to serve a four game suspension during the season, as will Kevin Williams. Having an experienced guy like Adams on-board would help ease the Vikings through the tough stretch of games without the Williams Wall.

For what it’s worth, several of Anthony’s Bears teammates have advocated for the team to retain him. It’s always encouraging when a guy is thought of highly by his teammates.

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