Vikings Offered Extension To Xavier Rhodes
The Vikings have made a “nice offer” to cornerback Xavier Rhodes and are willing to make him one of the league’s highest-paid cornerbacks, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (Twitter link).
Rhodes, 27, has appeared in 59 games for Minnesota since being selected with the 27th overall pick in the 2013 draft. 2016 was a Pro Bowl campaign for Rhodes, who earned the nod after starting 14 games and racking up five interceptions while grading as the league’s No. 29 corner, per Pro Football Focus, which also ranked Rhodes as the single-best run-defending corner in the NFL.
Under team control for the 2017 season thanks to his fifth-year option, Rhodes will earn $8.026MM for the upcoming year. In order to ensure he’s one of the NFL’s highest-paid at his position, the Vikings will likely need to clear the $13MM per year barrier for Rhodes. That level of contract would put him in line with Stephon Gilmore, A.J. Bouye, and Desmond Trufant. If Rhodes can hit $14MM or even $15MM annually, he’ll join the ranks of Josh Norman, Patrick Peterson, and Richard Sherman.
Latest On Sam Bradford, Teddy Bridgewater
- “There really hasn’t been anything that’s changed” regarding Sam Bradford‘s contract status, the Vikings quarterback told reporters, including Ben Goessling of ESPN.com, on Wednesday. Bradford is one of two high-profile Vikings signal-callers who could become a free agent next year. The other is Teddy Bridgewater, who suffered a knee injury last August that led to the Vikings acquiring Bradford from the Eagles. Bridgewater still isn’t ready to return to the gridiron, as the team went the expected route and announced Wednesday that he’ll start training camp on the active/physically unable to perform list. His contract could toll if he lands on the reserve/PUP list by by Week 1, which would give the Vikings an extra year of control over the 2014 first-round pick.
Vikings Make Two Moves
- The Vikings have signed cornerback Sam Brown and waived offensive tackle Arturo Uzdavinis. Brown spent some time last year with the Ravens, who signed him as an undrafted free agent from Missouri Western State, but didn’t see any action. Uzdavinis just signed with the Vikings on Monday. They quickly became the fifth former team for the 2016 undrafted free agent from Tulane, who previously spent time with the Texans, Bears, Jaguars and Lions.
Vikings Sign Everson Griffen To Extension
The Vikings and defensive end Everson Griffen are finalizing a massive four-year extension, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Griffen confirmed the deal in a Wednesday morning scrum with beat reporters. Griffen’s previous deal had him signed through 2018. The new pact should keep him in Minnesota for the remainder of his career. 
The extension is worth a whopping $58MM with $34MM in guarantees, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The “new money average” on the deal comes out to $14.5MM. We should have a better handle on the value of the deal when information comes out about the cash flow and the amount of money guaranteed at signing.
Griffen, 29, is coming off of his second consecutive Pro Bowl appearance after posting 48 tackles, 8.0 sacks, and three fumble recoveries. Since becoming a full-time starter for the Vikings in 2014, he has notched 30.5 sacks in total. The former fourth-round pick has gone from a rotational piece to an indispensable part of the team’s defensive line and he’ll now have a contract to reflect his importance to the team.
Pro Football Focus has graded Griffen as a top-30 defensive end in each of the last three seasons. He has also been remarkably durable, missing only one game in the past six seasons.
Griffen’s old deal called for him to earn $6.9MM in 2017 and $8.4MM in 2018. Those years may be revised in the new deal that takes him through the 2022 campaign.
Vikings' C.J. Ham Hoping To Make Roster As FB
- With Dalvin Cook, Latavius Murray, and Jerick McKinnon ahead of him on the Vikings‘ depth chart, C.J. Ham knows that playing fullback gives him the best chance at making the 53-man roster, Mark Craig of the Star Tribune writes. Although he is still listed as a running back, the Vikings have been transitioning him to fullback since the middle of OTAs. The Vikings are unsure as to whether they’ll carry a true fullback or if they’ll just rely on reserve tight ends to do some lead blocking. “That’s part of the [evaluation]; Do we keep a fullback on the roster or do we add more tight ends,” said head coach Mike Zimmer. “That should all shake out here in this preseason. If a guy is going to play say 10 plays a game, he’s also got to be really good on special teams to make the squad.”
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Vikings Sign OT Arturo Uzdavinis
- The Vikings have signed tackle Arturo Uzdavinis, bringing their roster back up to the 90-man max. The former undrafted rookie out of Tulane has bounced around since joining the league, previously spending time with the Texans, Bears, Jaguars, and Lions. The Vikings are currently rostering six other offensive tackles in Riley Reiff, Mike Remmers, Jeremiah Sirles, T.J. Clemmings, Rashod Hill, and Willie Beavers.
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Bridgewater Progressed During Workouts In Florida
- Teddy Bridgewater is likely to begin camp on the Active/PUP list, but Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter) the rehabbing quarterback has enjoyed some productive training sessions in Florida recently. The 24-year-old passer has not been cleared to practice but did do some throwing while at Vikings OTAs in May. Apparently, Bridgewater’s progressed further in between minicamp and training camp. But he’s still less than a year removed from the gruesome knee injury that changed the course of his career.
Teddy Bridgewater Likely To Land On PUP List To Start Camp
Mike Zimmer expects Teddy Bridgewater to begin training camp on the PUP list, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.
The Vikings quarterback returned to the practice field in May, nine months after his gruesome knee injury sidetracked his career. Tomasson notes this re-emergence included Bridgewater throwing to wide receivers, but the former first-round pick wasn’t cleared to practice. The team will begin practice Thursday from Mankato, Minn.
Minnesota placing Bridgewater on the Active/PUP list does not mean its former starter is shelved for the first six weeks of the season. Were Bridgewater to remain on the PUP once the regular season begins, though, it would. And then the situation would become complicated.
Bridgewater landing on the Reserve/PUP list come Week 1 could cause his contract to toll, meaning he’d still be attached to his 2017 Vikings salary ($2.18MM) in 2018 instead of hitting free agency. The Vikings did not pick up Bridgewater’s fifth-year option. A report surfaced in May Bridgewater’s camp would fight a PUP designation, if it’s believed the passer could pass a physical.
But that is several weeks away. Tomasson reports Bridgewater, who wore a knee brace when he took the field to throw passes earlier this offseason, threw without a brace in a subsequent session.
Vikings Sign One, Waive One
- The Vikings have signed defensive tackle Jarrod Clements and waived defensive end Caleb Kidder. Clements, who goes by “Chunky,” went undrafted out of Illinois this year. He saw action in each of his four years there, racking up 26.5 tackles for loss and six sacks along the way. Pro Football Focus offered a tepid review of his game in a pre-draft scouting report. Kidder only spent three and a half months with the Vikings, who signed him May 1 as an undrafted free agent from Montana.
Vikings To Use Cook As KR?
- Vikings special teams coach Mike Priefer says he would love to use rookie Dalvin Cook as his kick returner. However, he says the decision will ultimately be up to head coach Mike Zimmer (Twitter link via SiriusXM). The Vikings believe that Cook can be their lead running back of the future (and they have the ability to void Latavius Murray‘s contract after this season), so they might not want to give the high-risk role to him.