The Philadelphia Eagles, seeking to bolster a weak running game, signed former Heisman Trophy winner Hershel Walker to a two-year contract Monday.
The Minnesota Vikings cut Walker, 30, recently rather than re-sign him for his 1991 salary of $1.7 million. The Vikings got Walker from Dallas for five players and eight draft choices in 1989, a trade that turned out to be a bonanza for Dallas and a bust for Minnesota.
The Eagles, like the Vikings in 1989, hope Walker is the player to lift them from a better-than-average team to Super Bowl contender. It didn`t work for the Vikings.
”I think the Eagles can get to the Super Bowl and I want to be a part of it,” Walker said. ”There were other teams interested, but I thought this is the team to do the job.”
Walker said Eagles defensive end Reggie White played a big part in his decision.
”Reggie told me this was a very close team, a family,” Walker said.
”That`s the way you get to the Super Bowl, not just on individual superstars.”
Terms of Walker`s contract were not disclosed, but it is believed he will earn about $700,000 plus incentives.
