The Vikings' winter defensive makeover continued Friday, when the team sent a seventh-round pick in April's NFL draft to the New York Jets for veteran linebacker Sam Cowart.
Cowart immediately becomes the Vikings' starting middle linebacker, ending, at least for the near future, a failed experiment with second-year player E.J. Henderson at that position. Henderson will return to a role as a special-teams player and backup linebacker.
"This gives us a veteran leader for our entire defense," Vikings head coach Mike Tice said. "It's a great fit. He has always been a leader and he gives us another piece to the puzzle for what we're trying to do with the defense."
The trade reunites Cowart, 30, with Vikings defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell, who coached Cowart during the former Florida State star's first three NFL seasons with Buffalo and then helped bring Cowart to the Jets as a free agent when Cottrell was defensive coordinator there in 2002.
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