Vikings CB Xavier Rhodes issues apology for outburst in Week 13

Highly frustrating during Week 13, Minnesota Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes had an outburst on the sideline. He has issued an apology for those actions.

This hasn’t been a great year for Xavier Rhodes. The Minnesota Vikings defender has struggled immensely this season and looks like a shell of the shutdown cornerback fans and analysts believed he had become over the years.

Those frustrations boiled over in Week 13. After giving up a 60-yard touchdown to Seahawks wide receiver David Moore in the final minute of the third quarter, Rhodes was visibly upset as he left the field and appeared to be very vocal on the sidelines, throwing his helmet to the ground.

According to the Star Tribune, Rhodes regrets his outburst and feels bad about his response to the play as well as his actions on the sideline, particular toward his head coach.

"“I apologize definitely to Coach Zim. The things he’s taught me, I should never react that way toward him or toward my team, period,” Rhodes said. “I know my role, I need to play it better. I need to play better out on that field, eliminate the penalties and just do well.”"

It wasn’t just Zimmer who as involved in his incident. The Star Tribune added that the cornerback “knocked a water bottle out of an equipment assistant’s hand and dismissed linebacker Anthony Barr with a light shove” as well.

Zimmer offered the following statement on the outburst:

"“Xavier’s a good kid. We’ve always had our little moments, I guess you’d call it, but at the end of the day, he knows I’m always trying to do what’s best for him,” Zimmer said."

Of course, Rhodes is in the third year of his six-year contract where he is set to have cap hits of $12.9M, $14.15M, and $13.85M over the next three years according to Spotrac. Of all that cash, only a total of $7.2M is guaranteed, meaning that if the team doesn’t see improvement in his play soon that there is a chance Minnesota could move on from him.

However, that would be a tough decision to make. The team, analysts, and fans all know Rhodes has the potential to be one of the best cornerbacks in the league and it would take a lot to ship him away from the Vikings. However, if a worse incident happens between him and the coaching staff again combines with poor play, there is always a chance it could happen.