In a move that ends the four-year tenure of Gary Anderson in Minnesota and jeopardizes the future of the leading scorer in NFL history, the Vikings on Monday evening reached a contract agreement with unrestricted free agent kicker Doug Brien.

First-year coach Mike Tice indicated last week he would make a Monday decision on Anderson's future and he opted for Brien instead. An eight-year veteran, Brien will vie with free-agent Tyler Ashe for the kicking job.

"We exhausted every possible option that would allow us to keep Gary Anderson as our kicker," Tice said in a statement Monday.

Much larger than the question of who handles the kicking chores for the Vikings during the 2002 season, however, is whether Anderson will be able to land a job elsewhere. The 20-year veteran is the all-time league leader in scoring, with 2,133 points. He also owns the NFL record for most field goal conversions, with 476.

Anderson, 42, has not generated much interest in free agency, but that might be due in part to the widespread belief the Vikings would eventually re-sign him. Tice made it clear from the start, though, that Anderson was not guaranteed a job.

The much-traveled Anderson, who has played with four different teams in his career, hit 15 of 18 field goal tries and 29 of 30 extra point attempts in 2001. His 74 points were the fewest he has scored since his 1982 rookie season in Pittsburgh, when he had 52 points.

He became the NFL's all-time leading scorer in 2000, breaking the record previously held by George Blanda, with a 21-yard field goal against Buffalo on Oct. 22 of that year. While his leg strength has waned in recent seasons, and his career probably has been extended by playing in the Metrodome the past four years, Anderson has remained accurate on his field goal tries.

But there are not many openings for a place kicker in the NFL right now and Anderson might have to scramble to land a job before training camps open.

Brien, 31, has kicked for four different teams since entering the NFL in 1994 with the San Francisco 49ers. In addition to the 49ers (1994-95), he has played with the New Orleans Saints (1995-2000), Indianapolis Colts (2001) and Tampa Bay Bucs (2001).

He was inexplicably released by the Saints following the 2000 campaign and a fairly successful tenure there. Brien played in just three games in 2001, one for the Colts and two with the Bucs, and converted five of six field goal attempts.

For his career, Brien has converted 150 of 187 field goal tries and all but one of his 227 extra point attempts.

The Vikings, who are still trying to find ways to revamp their running game, also released running back Travis Prentice on Monday.

Prentice was acquired from Cleveland in September 2001 with the hopes of boosting ground production, but he saw little playing time behind starting running back Michael Bennett and backup Doug Chapman last year.

The 5-foot-11, 221-pound back -- who holds the NCAA records for points scored (468), rushing touchdowns (73), and total touchdowns (78) at Miami, Ohio -- ran the ball 14 times for 13 yards and two touchdowns last season and was used primarily in short-gain situations. He also caught one pass for 10 yards and returned one kickoff for 2 yards.

The Vikings didn't draft any running backs this year but signed rookie free agents Jeremy Allen from Iowa and Carlos Daniels from Western Illinois.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com. The Associated Press contributed to this story.