Vikings Notes: Joseph, Griffen, Spielman
The Vikings have shifted their approach to the salary cap in order to preserve their core, ESPN.com’s Kevin Seifert writes. Like most teams, the Vikings previously refused to extend players when they had more than one year to go on a deal. This year, they actually went to defensive end Everson Griffen and nose tackle Linval Joseph with early offers.
By changing up their philosophy, the Vikings got cost certainty on two key defensive linemen who were poised to eventually cash in on the open market. Meanwhile, Joseph was happy to trade in some potential financial upside for security.
“This game doesn’t last forever, at the end of the day,” Joseph said. “It was a great opportunity. I felt like I had outplayed my contract. For the Vikings to come to me and try to get something done, I was happy with that.”
Here’s more from Minnesota:
- We have details on Joseph’s four-year, $50MM extension, via Mike Florio of PFT. The deal gives Joseph $11.15MM fully guaranteed at signing with $31.5MM guaranteed for injury at signing. The cash flow of the deal (including the previously standing seasons) has Joseph making $26.9MM through 2019, $38.65MM through 2020, $49.9MM through 2021, and $62.4MM through 2022. In terms of “new money” – which is always a tricky metric – Joseph’s $12.5MM annual average makes him the league’s eighth highest-paid defensive tackle.
- More teams should look into extending contracts ahead of time like the Vikings did, Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap writes. Meanwhile, he feels that players and agents should be demanding more in scenarios like this. In the case of Joseph, he went from being virtually assured $15.5MM in 2017 and 2018 to getting $19MM, with $15MM of that being fully guaranteed. In essence, Joseph traded in his chance at a free agency payday for a $3.5MM pay bump and no significant guarantees for when the extension actually kicks in.
- Linebacker Eric Kendricks, defensive end Danielle Hunter, and wide receiver Stefon Diggs could be next in line for deals since they have 19 months remaining on their current deals, Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune writes. Linebacker Anthony Barr could also be in line for a new deal after the 2018 season, depending on what happens with his $12.3MM fifth-year option. Vikings GM Rick Spielman won’t get into specifics, but it sounds like more extensions could be on the way. “We still have a lot of work ahead of us. There are still some guys that we will be looking at to extend,” Spielman said Sunday. “I don’t know when or where those will take place, but we do have a strategic plan in place.”
Dolphins Considered Teddy Bridgewater
Before the Dolphins brought Jay Cutler out of retirement, they considered a number of other quarterbacks. In addition to Tim Tebow and Kyle Orton, Miami also internally discussed Teddy Bridgewater of the Vikings, Brock Osweiler of the Browns, and Cardinals QB Blaine Gabbert. 
[RELATED: Dolphins Sign Jay Cutler]
As far as we know the Dolphins didn’t get far enough to reach out to the Vikings about a potential Bridgewater trade and that makes sense considering his murky medical situation. Bridgewater is currently on the PUP list and no one knows what his status will be to start the season. It’s possible that Bridgewater’s gruesome knee injury from 2016 will keep him off the field until 2018. Even then, no one knows what kind of player he will be once he’s ready to return.
Osweiler was mentioned early on as a possibility when Ryan Tannehill suffered his knee injury, but the Browns rejected at least one trade offer for him this offseason and they’re leaning towards starting him in Week 1. The Browns may reconsider that position if the right offer comes their way, but the Dolphins are no longer a potential suitor after landing Cutler.
Vikings, Linval Joseph Agree To Extension
The Vikings have once again extended a key member of their defense. According to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter), the organization has signed defensive tackle Linval Joseph to a four-year, $50MM extension. The deal reportedly contains $31.5MM in guaranteed money.
Following the team’s signing of defensive end Everson Griffen and cornerback Xavier Rhodes to extensions, we heard that Joseph was next of the docket. The Pro Bowler was reportedly seeking similar money to Griffen’s four-year, $57.9MM extension, and he came up just short with his current deal. Either way, Joseph still earned himself quite the payday, as the guaranteed money will only rank him behind Ndamukong Suh, Marcell Dareus, Fletcher Cox, Kawann Short among defensive tackles.
The 2010 second-round pick has established himself as one of the linchpins of the Vikings defense over the past several years. 2016 was arguably the best season of the 28-year-old’s career, as Joseph compiled career-highs in tackles (77), sacks (four), and forced fumbles (three). Pro Football Focus was particularly fond of his performance, ranking him 14th among 125 qualified interior defensive linemen.
As our own Connor Byrnes noted earlier this week, the Vikings shouldn’t have been in any rush to sign the defensive tackle. Prior to signing this contract, Joseph still had two seasons remaining on the five-year, $31.25 million contract he signed back in 2014. Still, the organization has clearly prioritized locking up their core. Besides signing both Rhodes and Griffen to extensions, the team also extended safety Harrison Smith last offseason.
Details On Xavier Rhodes' Extension
- Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes‘ five-year, $70MM extension features $32.8 million in guaranteed money (excluding the $8.026MM he’ll make this season as a fifth-year option player), writes Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune. The accord also comes with $500K in per-game roster bonuses from 2018-22 and annual workout bonuses of $100K.
Talks Between Vikes, Linval Joseph “Ongoing”
The Vikings handed lucrative contract extensions to a pair of defensive linchpins in end Everson Griffen and cornerback Xavier Rhodes last week. Next on the docket is nose tackle Linval Joseph, who has talked about an extension with the team, reports Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press. Discussions between the two sides are “ongoing,” per Tomasson, who adds that Joseph wants a deal similar to the four-year, $57.9MM accord the Vikings gave Griffen.
A Griffen-esque payday for Joseph would make him the seventh D-tackle to secure a contract worth upward of $14MM per year, notes Tomasson. Such a deal would put Joseph in company with Ndamukong Suh, Fletcher Cox, Kawann Short, Marcell Dareus, Calais Campbell and Malik Jackson. Joseph hasn’t posted the lofty sack numbers of anyone in that sextet, having tallied 16.5 during his seven-year career, though he did tie a personal best with four last season. The adept run-stuffer also piled up 77 tackles and three forced fumbles during a 16-start 2016, the third such season of his career, and ranked an excellent 14th in performance among Pro Football Focus’ 125 qualified interior defensive linemen.
As great as Joseph has been for the Vikings since they signed the ex-Giant as a free agent prior to the 2014 season, inking him to a new deal isn’t something they absolutely have to do right now. Joseph, 28, still has two seasons remaining on his five-year, $31.25 million contract, and he doesn’t seem to regard securing an extension as a must.
“Whatever happens, happens,’’ Joseph told Tomasson. “If it’s time, it’s time (to get an extension). If not, I’m going to keep grinding.’’
In the event Minnesota does lock up Joseph soon, it’ll be the fourth time the franchise has awarded a big-money deal to a defender in the past year-plus. In June 2016, well before Griffen and Rhodes got their contracts, the Vikings extended safety Harrison Smith. Those three and Joseph are part of an enviable core of defenders that helped Minnesota’s ‘D’ finish toward the top of the NFL in yardage (third), scoring (sixth) and DVOA (eighth) in 2016.
Vikings, Xavier Rhodes Agree To Extension
The Vikings and cornerback Xavier Rhodes have agreed to terms on a five-year, $70MM extension, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). Rhodes was already slated to earn a little over $8MM this season under his fifth-year option, so in total, he is now under contract for six years (through 2022) and $78MM. As Schefter reports, the deal includes a whopping $41MM in guaranteed money, and also comes with a $12MM signing bonus, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
This is not surprising news, as reports from multiple sources this morning indicated that the two sides expected to finalize a deal today, and we heard yesterday that a lucrative extension was imminent. Schefter adds (via Twitter) that Rhodes will receive $42MM over the first three years of the contract, and he now ranks as the league’s third-highest-paid corner in terms of average annual value (behind only Trumaine Johnson, who is playing out the 2017 season under the franchise tag, and Josh Norman).
Rhodes, whom the Vikings selected in the first round of the 2013 draft, turned in the best season of his career in 2016, which earned him his first Pro Bowl nod. Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics were fairly kind to his overall effort, as Rhodes graded out as the 29th-best corner in the league out of 111 qualified players, but PFF really loved his performance against the run, where he graded as the top CB in football. Whatever issues he had in coverage he helped to make up for with his five interceptions, one of which he returned 100 yards for a score.
Since he became a full-time starter in 2014, Rhodes has also been pretty durable. He started all 16 regular-season contests in 2014 and 2015, and after missing the first two weeks of 2016 with a knee injury, he started and finished the remaining 14 games.
As Rapoport tweets, Minnesota will pursue a long-term deal with linebacker Anthony Barr next offseason.
Vikings Sign Darnell Sankey
- Again in need of a replacement linebacker, the Vikings signed Darnell Sankey, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports (on Twitter). The team waived linebacker Shaan Washington. Tomasson notes (on Twitter) the Vikes originally picked up linebacker Noor Davis to replace Washington, but after a Kentrell Brothers injury, the team added a second new ‘backer.
Vikings, Xavier Rhodes Close On Extension
The Vikings are close to finalizing an extension with cornerback Xavier Rhodes, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.
A source informed Tomasson the deal is expected to be in the five-year, $70MM vicinity. That would tie Rhodes to the Vikings through the 2022 season. The cornerback is set to make just more than $8MM on a fifth-year option this season.
We heard earlier this week the Vikings made a “nice offer” to the 27-year-old cornerback, who is entering his contract year. Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN reported the team is willing to make him one of the league’s highest-paid corners.
An assistant coach at Florida State during Rhodes’ time there and a former NFL corner, Terrell Buckley serves as a mentor to Rhodes. He told Tomasson there was a “high probability” Rhodes will sign an extension by the end of the week but is attempting to get a couple of things “squared away” with this Vikes proposal. Buckley added Rhodes “loves” playing for Mike Zimmer and secondary coach Jerry Gray, further pointing to a long Rhodes stay in Minneapolis.
At $14MM annually, that would match Rhodes with Richard Sherman and Patrick Peterson as the third-highest-paid corner. Only Josh Norman makes more than that annually, although Trumaine Johnson‘s franchise tag ($16.742MM) has him as the league’s highest-paid corner for 2017.
In addition to Rhodes, the Vikings want to lock down key members of their defense, Tomasson reports. They are internally discussing extensions for Anthony Barr, Eric Kendricks and Linval Joseph, per Tomasson. The team just signed Everson Griffen to a $57.9MM extension.
The Vikings rode their defense to a dominant start in 2016, jumping out to a 5-0 mark. Minnesota finished third defensively last season. Barr became extension-eligible after last season, but Kendricks — as a 2015 second-round pick — isn’t yet allowed to sign one until after this season. Joseph has delivered dominant football to the Vikings after they signed him as a UFA from the Giants. He has two years remaining on the five-year, $31.25MM deal he signed in 2014. Joseph is set to make $6.85MM in each of the next two seasons.
Contract Details: Griffen, Casey, Kelly
This week, two defensive linemen signed landmark extensions with their franchises. Here’s how their contracts are structured.
- Everson Griffen‘s four-year, $58MM Vikings extension included $18.8MM fully guaranteed at signing, and that will pay out over the next two years, Andrew Krammer of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. Griffen’s 2017 cap number rises to $8.6MM, and in 2018, that figure comes in at $11.6MM. The 29-year-old defensive end’s cap figures from 2019-22 are as follows: $11.9MM in ’19, $13.9MM (’20), $14.4MM (’21) and $15.5MM (’22). Griffen received a $2MM signing bonus. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports Griffen’s $3.9MM base salary for 2018 is guaranteed for injury at signing and becomes fully guaranteed on the third day of the next league year. His $10.9MM base in ’19 becomes fully guaranteed on Day 3 of the 2019 league year. After ’19, though, the guarantees are partial. $4.3MM of Griffen’s 2020 base ($12.9MM) is guaranteed for injury only at signing. Griffen has no guarantees attached to the 2021 or ’22 seasons, leading Florio to tab this a two-year deal with extra injury protection in the following two seasons.
- Jurrell Casey‘s four-year, $60.4MM Titans re-up contains $22MM fully guaranteed at signing, Florio reports. Over the next two years, the interior defender will make $25.2MM — $11.27MM of which will be new money, per Florio. Most of Casey’s 2017 wages come through bonuses; he will earn $1.4MM in base salary. In 2018 and ’19, Casey will earn $10.6MM base salaries. The 2018 base is over $4MM more than he was set to earn under the terms of the initial Titans extension he signed in 2014. That rises to $11.25MM in 2020 and climbs to $11.68MM in ’21. By 2022, which would be Casey’s age-31 season, the two-time Pro Bowler is set to earn $13.25MM.
- The Titans agreed to extend offensive lineman Dennis Kelly as well. It’s a two-year deal worth $3.05MM, with $400K guaranteed, per Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The swing backup will earn base salaries of $775K (2017), $1.1MM (’18) and $1.35MM (’19), per Terry McCormick of TitansInsider (via Twitter).
Vikings Make Two Roster Moves
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