Vikes continue with extension trend -- this time DT Williams

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kevin Williams has agreed to a seven-year contract extension with the Minnesota Vikings.

"I'm excited to get a deal done and finish my career with the team that drafted me," Williams said in a statement issued by the team Saturday. He was a first-round draft pick in 2003.

Williams has five sacks and nine tackles for loss this season, teaming with fellow defensive tackle Pat Williams to anchor a defense that's giving up just 54.5 yards rushing per game, tops in the NFL.

The signing continues a trend for the Vikings of locking up players they consider to building blocks on a team that is still coming together under first-year coach Brad Childress.

Left tackle Bryant McKinnie and linebacker E.J. Henderson are among the six Vikings to receive contract extensions this season.

Kevin Williams had one year left on the original deal he signed when he was drafted in the first round out of Oklahoma State. Terms of the extension weren't disclosed.

Kevin Williams had 21½ sacks in his first two seasons and has rebounded after an injury-plagued third year in 2005. The 26-year-old has regained the form that made him an All-Pro in 2004 and earned him his first Pro Bowl berth. He has been the Vikings' most consistent pass rusher on the defensive line this season and is an excellent run stopper.

"The All-Pro speaks for itself, but a lot of the things he does go unnoticed," Childress said in a statement. "He's one of the building blocks of that defense. We're happy he's going to be a part of the Minnesota Vikings long into the future."