Vikings make Xavier Rhodes one of the top paid corners in the NFL
The Minnesota Vikings signed lockdown corner Xavier Rhodes to a five-year contract extension, locking up another major piece to their defense.
Two days after locking up Everson Griffen to a four-year contract extension, the Minnesota Vikings locked up a big piece on the back end of the defense by signing Xavier Rhodes to a massive contract extension. Terms of the deal were reported by the NFL Network‘s Ian Rapoport:
The #Vikings and CB Xavier Rhodes have agreed to a 5-year extension worth $70M, source said. He'll get $78M over 6 years.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 30, 2017
Rapoport adds that the contract extension includes 41 million guaranteed as well as a 12 million dollar signing bonus. The deal keeps Rhodes around for six more seasons. Without the deal, Rhodes would have made a little over 8 million dollars in the final year of his rookie contract. He then could have pursued free agency.
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According to Arif Hasan of Zone Coverage, Rhodes’ deal only makes him the ninth-highest paid corner after adjusting for cap environment. That makes the contract extension an even greater investment for the Vikings, considering he’s arguably a top-five corner in the NFL.
Undoubtedly, Rhodes, 27, deserves the big-money deal after having his best season with the Vikings. In 2016, Rhodes had 52 tackles to go along with five interceptions and 11 passes defended. He also returned one of those interceptions for a 100-yard touchdown in what was a two-interception game against the Arizona Cardinals. Indeed, it was a break-out season for the Vikings’ young star.
Yet, Rhodes made his mark league-wide in a Week 4 nationally televised game against the New York Giants. In that game, Rhodes shut down Odell Beckham Jr., one of the game’s brightest stars, as the Vikings went on to win 24-10. According to Pro Football Focus, no one shut down the wideout better than Rhodes.
No CB locked down Odell Beckham Jr. last season better than the @Vikings Xavier Rhodes pic.twitter.com/S7p1XQJkrn
— PFF (@PFF) June 9, 2017
Rhodes wasn’t just counted on to stop the Giants’ top receiver, in fact, he trailed every team’s top wideout on a weekly basis and did it effectively. At season’s end, Rhodes was rewarded by making his first Pro Bowl. Fast forward months later and he’s being rewarded with a big, fat contract extension that keeps him in Minnesota through 2022.
It’s safe to say that the shutdown corner is quite excited about it.
The bank account done caught the Holy Ghost!!!!💰💰💰💰
— Xavier Rhodes (@XavierRhodes29_) July 30, 2017
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Moving forward, the Vikings may not be done negotiating deals. A few sources are reporting that the team is looking into extensions with Linval Joseph and Anthony Barr. Both are coming up on expiring deals.
Basically, it’s clear that the Vikings are intent on locking up the main pieces on one of the NFL’s top defenses, which should excite all Vikings fans out there. They’ve started off well by extending Griffen and Rhodes to a couple of well-deserved contracts. Skol Vikings!
Next: Who is the Vikings X-factor on defense?
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