Vikings release Madieu Williams, DT Kennedy

Only minutes after the waiver period for 2011 started in the NFL, the Vikings released former starting safety Madieu Williams, along with backup defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy and practice squad receiver Freddie Brown.

The Vikings have released safety Madieu Williams, along with the expected releases of defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy and wide receiver Freddie Brown.

Williams was scheduled to make $5.4 million in base salary with a cap number of $6.13 million. The move should save the team about $3.4 million on the salary cap, due to the remaining three years of prorated signing bonus left to account for.

Williams signed a six-year, $33 million deal in 2008 that included a $4 million signing bonus after a four-year career with the Bengals. In four years with Cincinnati, Williams had nine interceptions and 288 tackles. In his three years since with the Vikings, he had three interceptions and 191 tackles.

Williams suffered a serious neck injury in his first training camp with the Vikings and missed seven games that year. He missed 12 games in 2005 with a shoulder injury that required surgery and three games in 2007 with a quadriceps injury that eventually sent him to injured reserve.

Last year, Williams played in 14 games (13 starts), missing the final two games of the season and being placed on injured reserve Dec. 31 after suffering a concussion.

Kennedy and Brown were informed of their releases earlier this week, but the Williams release wasn't completely unexpected given his salary level versus his production.

The Vikings also announced the signings of two more undrafted rookies, tight end Ed Barham (North Carolina) and running back Alexander Robinson. That brings the undrafted rookie count to 16 signings for the Vikings.

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