Eric Kendricks – ILB
Eric Kendricks has been amazing for the Vikings throughout his career. The guy made plays all over the field, was excellent in coverage, and became the heart and soul of the defense the last couple of seasons.
While Kendricks did have an impressive 137 tackles this season, he didn’t have a single interception and mustered just one sack. The game-changing plays weren’t there, and in the game against the Giants, we saw Kendricks’ age finally start to catch up with him.
There were a couple of times that Kendricks, despite his hustle, couldn’t catch up to Barkley on the sidelines. He also missed a tackle in the backfield that he would’ve made 99 percent of the time in his prime.
The dude’s body is starting to fail him, and that showed up against the Giants in a game where the loser had to go home.
Eric Kendricks is due over $9 million next season. The Vikings will be needing to cut some salary, and with his heir already on the roster in Brian Asamoah, this very well could’ve been the last game Kendricks plays in purple. It’s too bad it was one of his more disappointing performances in recent memory.