Despite having the fewest career receptions of the four wide receivers released for salary cap reasons earlier this week, Derrick Alexander became the first to find a new home, as ESPN.com has learned the eight-year veteran on Friday afternoon reached an agreement with the Minnesota Vikings.

The decision by Alexander to sign with the Vikings is not surprising, since he actually visited with team officials last month, before his release. Kansas City officials, knowing that Alexander would be a post-June 1 salary cap casualty, had granted him permission to visit with other teams and undergo physical exams.

It has been clear for more than a month that Minnesota, seeking to add a complement to Randy Moss, had Alexander at the top of its wish list. That said, Alexander still visited this week with officials from New England and Tampa Bay before finally deciding that he would sign with the Vikings.

Alexander will sign a three-year contract worth $5.1 million. He is expected to participate in a minicamp this weekend.

Minnesota officials began pushing Thursday for a resolution of its negotiations with Alexander and publicly hinted they might turn to another of the free agent wide receivers, former Green Bay star Antonio Freeman, if a deal wasn't soon struck.

Other teams were after Alexander, too, but Vikings coach Mike Tice reiterated after a minicamp practice Friday morning that the team didn't want to bend over backward to get someone.

"We're not going to play games with any people,'' Tice said. "They either want to be a part of this or they don't want to be a part of this.''

Alexander, 30, suffered through an injury-plagued 2001 season and finished with just 27 catches for 470 yards and three touchdowns. The receptions total was his lowest since the 1995 season, his second in the league, when he had only 15 catches.

While he is the lone player among the four wide receivers released this week who never posted an 80-catch season, Alexander's speed attracted suitors. He has a career average of 17.0 yards per catch and has averaged a touchdown every 10.3 receptions. Some teams, however, were concerned with Alexander's reputation as a player with a questionable work ethic.

The former University of Michigan star will have to prove that the 2000 season, when he had career bests in catches (78), yards (1,391) and touchdowns (10), was not just a late-career aberration. He had consecutive nine-touchdown years with Baltimore in 1996-97, but has only 19 touchdown grabs in the four ensuing seasons.

Take away the 10 scores in 2000 and that's an average of only three touchdown grabs in the three other seasons.

Alexander entered the league as a first-round pick of the Cleveland Browns in the 1994 draft. He moved with the franchise to Baltimore in 1996, when he signed with the Chiefs as a free agent in 1998.

He has 403 career receptions for 6,837 yards and 39 touchdowns. Alexander has 118 regular-season appearances and 97 starts.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.