Trading Xavier Rhodes is a Good Idea

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Xavier Rhodes is a fixture of the Minnesota Vikings defensive lineup. We have the fondest memories (and gifs) of Mike Evans and Odell Beckham Jr. throwing sideline temper tantrums in frustration throughout Xavier’s dominant 2017 season.

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Mike Evans showing his frustrations on the sideline pic.twitter.com/4FUWXIifeT

— uSTADIUM (@uSTADIUM) September 24, 2017

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But 2018 was a different story.

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#Vikings cornerback grades through Week 16, per @PFF (min. 100 coverage snaps):

Mackensie Alexander – 76.3
Holton Hill – 72.0
Trae Waynes – 66.8
Mike Hughes (IR) – 61.5
Xavier Rhodes – 58.2

— Sean Borman (@SeanBoarMan) December 24, 2018

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Xavier Rhodes has tried to quiet the noise by pointing to injuries (mostly his dedication to being on the field too early after those injuries) as the reason for his 2018 inadequacies. 

I’m not sold.

Rhodes is currently on the books through 2022 at $13-14 Million but his contract becomes very negotiable after 2019. According to Spotrac.com, his cap hit, if the Vikings were to cut him, decreases from the $20 Million it was at this year, down to $7.2 Million in 2019. It then drops to $4.8 Million in 2020 etc. 

Having this upcoming contract flexibility should increase suitors and offers, in return. 

On the Paul Allen Show (KFAN – Podcastable HERE) Thursday, PA asked Ben Leber if he’d trade Xavier for a 2nd round pick, if the other team were willing to eat the entire contract. 

Leber didn’t hesitate before saying that he absolutely would make that trade.

I would hope to get a little bit more back than a 2nd but that’s a big chunk of money swapping books for a guy who had an injury plagued 2018 and didn’t play very well in the 13 games he did see the field, so I wouldn’t be mad at it.

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Depth in Secondary

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The fact that we are even having this conversation means that Mike Zimmer and Rick Spielman deserve a lot of credit for the depth that they have built in the Vikings secondary. It starts with Trae Waynes. We could never look at trading Xavier Rhodes if he weren’t emerging as one of the better CB’s league-wide.

At times, Trae Waynes could often be mistaken as our #1 CB in 2018 and he was targeted a lot more than Rhodes. 

Trae has one year left on his deal and it will be a steal for what he could’ve gotten on the open market, had the Vikings not picked up his 5th-year rookie option. He’s scheduled to make $9 Million and will be a FA after. Trading Rhodes allows you to extend Waynes, who appears to be a future #1 CB.

Zimmer’s other 3 high-round CB draft picks all seem to be winners too. Mackensie Alexander finally took the step we’ve been waiting for while both Mike Hughes and Holton Hill had very impressive rookie seasons. There’s no reason to think that, in today’s day and age, Hughes won’t recover from his knee injury 100%. Jayron Kearse also excelled in his new role in the jacked up Nickel package.

We could even promise Mike that we’ll let him draft another CB in the top 4 rounds if he is willing to let go of Rhodes.

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[/et_pb_code][et_pb_code _builder_version=”3.19.3″]Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports FanFollow @realmnsportsfanTweets by realmnsportsfan [/et_pb_code][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]