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Cardinals bring on John Carlson

NFL, Minnesota Vikings, Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals signed former Vikings tight end John Carlson to a two-year deal Friday, the team announced.

The deal is worth a total of $4 million, a league source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

Minnesota released Carlson Wednesday after the Vikings failed to agree with the 29-year-old tight end on a second straight restructured deal.

Carlson, who signed a five-year, $25 million deal with the Vikings in 2012, was scheduled to make $5 million next season. The Vikings saved $2 million in cap room by releasing Carlson after the remaining $3 million on his signing bonus is escalated onto their 2014 salary cap.

Carlson, who signed with the Vikings after missing all of 2011 with the Seattle Seahawks, caught just eight passes in an injury-plagued first year with the team. The Litchfield, Minn., native then carved out a respectable role in the Vikings' offense last season after tight end Kyle Rudolph broke his foot, catching 32 passes for 344 yards. But his season ended prematurely because of concussion issues that have dogged him throughout his career.

Information from ESPN.com's Ben Goessling was used in this report.

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