EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Greg Jennings spent seven years getting the best of the Minnesota Vikings secondary while playing for their bitter rivals in Green Bay.

No longer feeling as important to the Packers after two seasons shortened by injuries, Jennings crossed the border and found a team that welcomed him with desperately open arms.

Jennings signed a five-year contract with the Vikings on Friday, leaving Aaron Rodgers and that high-octane passing offense in Green Bay for the unproven Christian Ponder and the ground-and-pound Vikings.

The contract has a maximum value of $47.5 mlllion, with $18 million guaranteed. The contract is worth a minimum of $27 million over the first three years, and could be as much as $28.5 million over the first three years if he goes to the Pro Bowl, according to ESPN's Josina Anderson.

The 29-year-old Jennings played in only eight games for the Packers in 2012, plus two in the playoffs, because of a torn lower abdominal muscle and finished with a career-low 366 yards receiving with an average of 10.2 yards per catch, also his worst NFL total.

In 2011, he missed three games with a sprained left knee. He said he felt lost in the shuffle behind younger Packers receivers such as James Jones, Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb and sounded determined to prove that his best years are not behind him.

"I can definitely still do it," said Jennings, who will turn 30 on Sept. 21. "I can definitely still make plays and be as exciting as I was in my earlier years."

Then he caught himself and chuckled.

"I am not old," he said. "I am 29 years old!"

If this story of a high-profile Packers player joining the Vikings sounds familiar, that's because it is. Safety Darren Sharper, kicker Ryan Longwell and, of course, quarterback Brett Favre defected before him.

"I'm not the first Packers player to jump on this side," he said with a smile.