Sept. 8 (UPI) -- The Minnesota Vikings signed starting offensive lineman Brian O'Neill to a multiyear contract extension that will make him the league's second-highest-paid right tackle, the team announced Wednesday.
League sources told ESPN and NFL Media that O'Neill agreed to a five-year, $92.5 million extension with the Vikings. According to the outlets, the agreement also includes $49 million guaranteed.
O'Neill, who was entering the final year of his rookie deal, is now tied to the Vikings through the 2026 season. After the extension, he has the second-highest average annual salary ($18.5 million) among right tackles, behind only the New Orleans Saints' Ryan Ramczyk.
"Earlier this off-season when I said, 'I want to be here, no matter what.' I've known that for a long time," O'Neill told reporters Wednesday. "The people we have in this building, everybody around here, I just want to be a part of it. And I'm happy to be a part of it.
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"There was never really a doubt as to whether or not something was going to work or not, in my mind. Because this is where I want to be. I want to be a Viking for my whole career."
The Vikings selected O'Neill in the second round of the 2018 draft out of the University of Pittsburgh. He has appeared in 46 career games and has never missed a start due to injury.
Minnesota has recorded the third-most rushing yards (4,416) in the NFL since O'Neill captured the team's starting right tackle job only six games into his rookie campaign. According to ESPN Stats & Information, he ranked first among all offensive linemen in run block win rate (80.5%) last season.
