For the second time in a month, the Minnesota Vikings have raided the Miami Dolphins for an unrestricted free-agent defensive lineman.

ESPN.com has learned the team reached a Tuesday evening agreement with versatile pass rusher Lorenzo Bromell.

Bromell, 26, played all four previous seasons of his career with the Dolphins, who selected him in the fourth round of the 1998 draft. He will be reunited in Minnesota with another former Miami defensive lineman, end Kenny Mixon, who earlier in the free-agent period signed a five-year, $17 million contract.

A former Clemson standout, Bromell will sign a five-year, $11 million contract. With incentives, many of which are easily reachable, the value could climb to $15 million. He had visited with several teams in free agency and chose the Vikings over returning to the Dolphins.

The Vikings also acquired wide receiver D'Wayne Bates on waivers Tuesday, nearly two weeks after they had initially signed him to a restricted free agent offer sheet. The waiver award of the three-year veteran wide receiver concluded a saga that merited far more attention than a player of Bates' actually deserved.

Gaining another front four lineman like Bromell, a younger veteran with great potential, further upgrades the traditionally undermanned Minnesota defense. In addition to Mixon, the team also added middle linebacker Henri Crockett, an unrestricted free agent from the Atlanta Falcons. The Vikings, armed with more salary cap room than the club has enjoyed in years, have been among the most aggressive teams in free agency.

Under rookie head coach Mike Tice, the Vikings have made defensive improvement a priority.

Bromell has started in just two of his 53 career appearances, but averaged between 50-60 percent of the defensive snaps over the past three seasons. He is a natural end but, in the Miami pass rush he typically moved inside to tackle, where he was usually too quick for guards to handle.

He posted 21 ½ sacks in four seasons, an excellent total for a part-time player, and is explosive coming off the ball in pass-rush situations. His eight sacks in 1998 led all rookies in that category that season. He had 6 ½ sacks and a career-best 32 tackles in 2001 and also forced three fumbles. For his career, Bromell has 84 tackles and two pass deflections.

In getting Bates, the Vikings land a promising wide receiver who has never come close to fulfilling his potential. Minnesota signed him to a three-year, $2.85 million offer sheet as a restricted free agent. The Chicago Bears, his original team, matched the offer but then still released Bates when they could not renegotiate the contract.

By claiming him on waivers, the Vikings assume the three-year contract, although the $2.85 million price tag is a steep one for such an underachieving player. He has been inactive for 25 of the 48 possible games in which he could have played.

Bates has 15 receptions for 221 yards and one touchdown. He played in a career-high 11 games in 2001 and had nine catches for 160 yards.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.