The Minnesota Vikings may be able to lock down the core of their defense in the coming days, as reports have come out that they’re close to finalizing deals with their top pass rusher and cornerback.
The first report comes from Chris Tomasson at the Pioneer Press, who sources his story from Rhodes’ mentor Terrell Buckley.
Terrell Buckley, a former NFL defensive back and the mentor to cornerback Xavier Rhodes, said Tuesday night there is a “high probability’’ Rhodes will sign a lucrative contract extension this week with the Vikings.
Buckley, who was an assistant coach when Rhodes played at Florida State, said in a phone interview he had a lengthy discussion Monday with Rhodes.
Rhodes is coming off a career year as one of the better cornerbacks in the NFL and has a resume that includes a dominant stretch in the second half of the 2015 season where he was playing as a top three cornerback. He finished the 2016 season with the lowest passer rating allowed in coverage of any cornerback in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus.
The second report comes from Ian Rapaport at the NFL Network.
It will be interesting to see what “massive” means; Griffen was due $6.9 million this year and $8.4 million next year. After two first-team Pro Bowl appearances, it seems as if the Vikings aren’t just happy with the deal they signed with him in the 2014 offseason but eager to lock down even more.
While Griffen’s sheer sack total has been dropping, he’s been consistent about producing pressure and ranked fifth among 4-3 defensive ends in total pressures produced last year. Add to that his proficiency in the run game, and it’s clear that the Vikings are happy to have found a core player on their defense moving forward.
It’s important to remember that Griffen’s salary was only fully guaranteed for first two years of his prior deal, which means this could just be a chance to establish further roster guarantees more than it is to secure more money at the back end of the contract.
Either way, it looks like the Vikings are set to keep building a defense that should be the primary driver to any playoff push.
Catch Arif every week on The Andy Luke & Arif Football Machine
