The Minnesota Vikings’ young cornerback will likely receive a contract extension during the next few months that could make him the highest paid in the NFL at his position.
Xavier Rhodes had himself quite the season in 2016 for the Minnesota Vikings. One that ended with the cornerback earning his first career invite to the Pro Bowl.
Rhodes not only had a great year on the field statistically last season, but he also established himself as one of the premier (if not the premier) shutdown cornerbacks in the NFL.
In Week 4 last year, he held New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. to just three catches for 23 yards. During the following week, Rhodes only allowed Houston Texans pass catcher DeAndre Hopkins to only catch five passes for 56 yards and one garbage time touchdown.
The list of receivers the Vikings cornerback held under 100 receiving yards in 2016 not only includes the two mentioned above, but many other big-name pass catchers including Alshon Jeffrey, Marvin Jones, Dez Bryant, and Allen Robinson. Thanks to his efforts on the field in 2016, Rhodes has lined himself up for a pretty nice payday this offseason.
Minnesota Vikings
It has been widely reported that Minnesota is expected to offer a contract extension to their star corner before the start of next season and a recent report by ESPN’s Ben Goessling suggests that Rhodes could possibly become the highest paid cornerback in the league after he signs his extension.
In his article, Goessling mentions the recent contracts and extensions signed by cornerbacks around the NFL and how they will impact the amount of money Rhodes will be looking for. In his estimation, Goessling suggests that the Minnesota corner’s extension could look something similar to the extension the Atlanta Falcons just gave their young corner in Desmond Trufant (five years, $68.75 million, $42 million guaranteed).
"“(Trufant is) 83 days younger than Rhodes, and his statistics through four seasons are so close to the ones Rhodes has put up with the Vikings, it seems a virtual lock Trufant’s name will be on the lips of Rhodes’ agent, Sunny Shah, during negotiations (if it hasn’t been already).”– Ben Goessling, ESPN"
Many knew about the strong possibility of the Vikings extending Rhodes this offseason. But now everyone can kind of gauge how big of a payday the Minnesota corner will actually be getting.
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Rhodes proved to the Vikings in 2016 that he deserves to be spoken in the same breath as some of the top corners in the NFL today and now he will likely get paid like one.