Minnesota Vikings CB Xavier Rhodes fined $17,363

Minnesota Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes drew three flags during Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos. However, one of those penalties ended up costing the young man $17,363. The play in question came during the third quarter of Sunday’s game, when Broncos wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders was brought down by a horse collar tackle.

Penalties have become a major issue for Rhodes, who has cost the Minnesota Vikings 65 yards this season, which is the 4th most penalty yards on one individual player during the 2015 season according to a recent article on ESPN’s website. He is also tied for the most penalties for a single player so far this year with 7, tied with teammate Everson Griffen.

Sep 27, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes (29) against the San Diego Chargers at TCF Bank Stadium. The Vikings defeated the Chargers 31-14. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

To this point, Xavier Rhodes has faced some huge challenges during the 2015 NFL season. He’s been asked to cover great receivers like Detroit’s Calvin Johnson, San Francisco’s Anquan Boldin, and San Diego’s Keenan Allen. Sadly, things don’t look to get much easier for Rhodes, as he will likely be asked to cover the opposing team’s #1 wide receiver for the remainder of the season.

Working on eliminating bad penalties should be one of the major focuses for the Minnesota Vikings during their bye week. The squad has 27 penalties for 224 yards so far this season, with 9 of those flags coming on pre-snap situations such as encroachment and offsides.

Personally, I have no idea how the league comes up with these amounts for fines. $17,363 is such an odd number. I mean, why not throw some change in there too just to make it even more weird? It likely is some kind of complicated formula based on player salary, number of previous fines, and other factors, but just seeing that number makes me scratch my head. Still, it is totally understandable that Rhodes was fined for this play since horse collar tackles are so dangerous.

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