The Minnesota Vikings and Harrison Smith have agreed to a four-year, $64 million contract extension.

It makes Smith the second-highest paid safety in the NFL.

Smith said all offseason that his goal was to remain in Minnesota. He was heading into the final year of the five-year extension he signed with the team in 2016.

The Minnesota Vikings are expected to sign Everson Griffen.

From 2010 to 2019 with the Vikings, Griffen totaled 74.5 sacks, which ranks seventh in franchise history. He was named a Pro Bowler four times in Minnesota, including three straight seasons from 2015 to '17.

In February 2020, Griffen opted out of his contract and became a free agent. He signed a one-year deal with the Dallas Cowboys in August 2020 and was traded to the Detroit Lions two months later.

The Minnesota Vikings are bringing in renowned epidemiologist and infectious disease expert Dr. Michael Osterholm to speak to the team Monday, according to sources.

The Vikings' vaccination rate among players has lagged behind other teams.

Mike Zimmer has been vocal about his frustration regarding his team's status related to the vaccine.

Kirk Cousins vowed to follow the NFL's COVID-19 protocols to avoid contracting the virus or being deemed a close contact ahead of returning to practice Thursday after being activated off the reserve/COVID-19 list.

According to NFL-NFL Players Association protocols, a high-risk close contact designates that a player is also unvaccinated.

"I've come to learn since I've been at home that the tracers we wear actually showed I was not a 'close contact' as I understand being a close contact, which is being within a certain number of feet," Cousins said. "The challenge was, the meeting room we met in was deemed to be too small for us to have been in a room together -- even if we were significantly apart from each other. So we've since moved to a different meeting room, and as I understand it, had we met in a larger room, I would not have missed practice. Because I was not a close contact as deemed by actually being in contact. So it was disappointing to miss practice. In my entire college and pro career, I have not missed four practices. So to miss four practices in one week and not have COVID was frustrating, disappointing."