Tomlinson Arrives Early, Dines With Vikings' Officials Wednesday Night

Free-agent running back LaDainian Tomlinson arrived a day ahead of schedule to have dinner with Minnesota Vikings’ officials in Minneapolis Wednesday night.

Tomlinson was originally scheduled to visit with Vikings’ officials on Thursday.

The Vikings' officials consisted of head coach Brad Childress, offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and running back's coach Eric Bieniemy.

Defensive tackle Pat Williams also attended the dinner to help persuade Tomlinson into playing for the Vikings. Williams went out of his way to attend the dinner despite a long day in court at the StarCaps trial.

Tomlinson told WCCO 4 News that he wants to be a Viking because he wants to win a Super Bowl. Williams, 37, expressed the same desire of winning a Super Bowl late last season.

Williams is expected to retire after this upcoming season, so he's doing all he can to improve the team and improve on next season.

Childress and company assured Tomlinson the goal for next season is to move past the NFC Championship game onto the Super Bowl.

Tomlinson is expected to accept a reserve role behind running back Adrian Peterson.  Tomlinson acknowledged his agent, Tom Condon, is in town to negotiate.

Expect a deal to be done by Thursday.

Nam Huynh writes for the Minnesota Sports Zone Blog (http://www.mnsportszone.com) Sources: http://mn-sz.com/?p=3503