Better positioned on the salary cap than they have been in several years, the Minnesota Vikings invested some of their surplus wisely on Saturday, with ESPN.com learning the team reached a contract agreement with highly regarded unrestricted free agent defensive end Kenny Mixon.

	Mixon

The four-year veteran chose the Vikings over the Miami Dolphins, for whom he had played his entire career before becoming eligible for free agency, and the Cincinnati Bengals. Agent Drew Rosenhaus went late into the night Friday negotiating with the teams and the discussions carried over into Saturday.

"He hated to leave Miami," Rosenhaus said. "He made a lot of friends and had close teammates, but he has the opportunity to join an up and coming defense and have financial security for his family."

"Kenny was our number one target," head coach Mike Tice said. "Our defense improved today."

Mixon, 26, will sign a five-year, $17 million contract. The agreement includes a signing bonus of $3.4 million and base salaries of $600,000 (2002), $2 million (2003), $2.6 million (2004), $3.8 million (2005) and $4.5 million (2006).

The former LSU standout was a second-round choice of the Dolphins in the 1998 draft and has been a full-time starter at right end in Miami in three of his four seasons there. His exit all but assures that tackle Daryl Gardener will move from tackle to left end and recently acquired tackle Larry Chester will slide into the starting lineup.

Miami officials had acknowledged at the outset of the free agent signing period that they would likely lose Mixon to another team.

Although he has never posted more than 2½ sacks in a season, Mixon is regarded as having a very live body and being a solid two-way player. He is an excellent anchor against the run, has some pass rush ability and probably will get more opportunities in Minnesota to chase down the quarterback. He can also move inside to tackle and provide some snaps there.

In his four seasons, Mixon has appeared in 59 games and started 50 contests. He has registered 133 tackles, 6½ sacks, one forced fumble, one interception and six pass deflections. The Vikings have been undermanned upfront on defense and the addition of Mixon should be regarded as a significant one for the franchise.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.