The Facts: Carlson will get a second chance with the Minnesota Vikings. The veteran tight end signed a restructured contract on Tuesday morning that lowers his base salary for 2013 and gives the Vikings salary cap relief, according to NFL sources.

Diehards Line:Carlson was due to have $1.2 million of his scheduled $2.9 million base salary fully guaranteed if he was on the Vikings' roster when the new league year begins this afternoon. Details of the restructured deal weren't entirely clear, but a source told 1500ESPN.com's Tom Pelissero that Carlson, 28, still gets the $1.2 million in guaranteed money and can reach $3 million this year via a $100,000 workout bonus and incentives. The Vikings signed Carlson to a five-year, $25 million last March that included $7.9 million guaranteed in the first year, hoping to pair him with Kyle Rudolph in a two-tight attack. But Carlson sprained a knee early in training camp, missed the entire preseason and never found his stride. He played only 235 snaps (21.4 percent) and had only eight catches for 43 yards in 15 games, sitting out two others because of a concussion.