Marcus Sherels, A.J. Jefferson receive contract tenders from Vikings
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The Percy Harvin trade left Marcus Sherels as the only experienced return man on the Minnesota Vikings roster -- and he'll be back to compete for time again.
Sherels received his one-year, $555,000 tender as an exclusive rights player on Monday, an NFL source said. The contract is not guaranteed and can be withdrawn until Sherels signs it, which should happen soon.
Players with fewer than three accrued seasons have no negotiating rights and thus are termed exclusive rights players, with their minimum salary offers determined by credited seasons.
If the Vikings hadn't made a minimum tender offer before the league year begins at 3 p.m. Tuesday, though, Sherels would have been declared a free agent.
Sherels, a Rochester native and former Gopher, earned a contract offer out of the Vikings' annual "call of the wild" tryout in May 2010 and made his NFL debut later that year.
The 25-year-old played in every game the past two seasons primarily as a return man, averaging 8.7 yards on 65 punt returns with one touchdown and 27.1 yards on 32 kick returns.
Safety Andrew Sendejo and offensive lineman Troy Kropog also received exclusive rights tenders, each for one year and $630,000, according to NFL sources.
Also as expected, the Vikings issued cornerback A.J. Jefferson the low restricted tender of $1.323 million on Monday. That means they'll have the right to match any offer sheet Jefferson signs elsewhere.
