Broncos sign rookie tackle Vinston Painter to contract

Rookie offensive tackle Vinston Painter signed a four-year, $2.2 million contract with the Broncos, the team announced Thursday evening.

Painter was drafted in the sixth round (173rd overall) out of Virginia Tech.
Painter (6-foot-6, 309 pounds) was a one-year starter at tackle for the Hokies, but played 31 games total. He played right and left tackle at Virginia Tech, but he spent his first two seasons with the Hokies on the defensive side of the ball.
He started all 13 games last year as a fifth-year senior and earned honorable mention All-Atlantic Coast Conference recognition.
On Friday, the Broncos opened a three-day minicamp for the rookies.
After the draft, Broncos executive vice president of football operations John Elway said of Painter: "I think he's ... a guy we want leading us off the bus because he's a good-looking guy."
Painter has quality athleticism — he was one of the few linemen to have a sub-5.0 40-yard dash at the combine — and the Broncos see a potential, down-the-road fit at right tackle, and perhaps eventually on the left side.