Krammer: Extension For Rhodes Top Priority
- A long-term contract extension for cornerback Xavier Rhodes should be atop Vikings general manager Rick Spielman‘s to-do list, opines Andrew Krammer of the Star Tribune. Rhodes’ overall performance ranks a below-average 63rd among Pro Football Focus’ 114 qualifying corners, but as Krammer notes, the 26-year-old has held his own against stiff competition since last season. In matchups against Rhodes, star receivers Julio Jones, Odell Beckham, DeAndre Hopkins and Alshon Jeffery have combined to catch 13 passes — not even half of their 30 targets — for 145 yards and two touchdowns. The Vikings exercised Rhodes’ fifth-year option for 2017 last May, so the 2013 first-round pick will remain with the club for at least another season after this one.
Vikings Notes: Long, Faciane
- Jake Long‘s deal with the Vikings is for the prorated portion of the veterans’ minimum with an injury split of $453K, Ben Goessling of ESPN.com tweets. He’ll count only $423K against the salary cap because of the minimum salary benefit. At the moment, the Vikings are $379K over the salary cap, so they’ll have to move some money around.
- Isame Faciane, one of Long’s fellow Vikings offensive linemen, is facing three misdemeanor charges after receiving a DWI citation Wednesday, according to Goessling. Faciane has been a member of the Vikings’ practice squad since 2014.
Vikings Tight On Cap Space
- Given that the club has $33MM worth of salaries on injured reserve at the moment, Vikings general manager Rick Spielman said he needed a “magic wand” in order to fit new signee Jake Long‘s cap figure, writes Andrew Krammer of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Spielman, who said Minnesota had less than $50K in cap space before adding Long, claimed he didn’t need to restructure any other contracts to squeeze in the veteran offensive lineman. It’s unclear exactly how the Vikes made financial room for Long (one possibility, from my vantage point, could be tweaking another player’s incentives to “not likely to be earned”), and Krammer reports that Spielman was “vague” about the subject.
Vikings To Sign Jake Long
Former No. 1 overall pick Jake Long has a new home. The Vikings are expected to sign the offensive tackle today, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). 
Long auditioned for Minnesota on Monday after the team was forced to place Andre Smith on IR. While Smith deals with his bothersome elbow, Long is expected to provide veteran depth for the Vikings’ O-Line. He likely won’t be penciled in as a starter, but we should know more about his role when coach Mike Zimmer addresses reporters today.
Long appeared to have a deal with the Ravens this summer, but his physical raised red flags for the team and the tackle declined to sign an injury waiver. When that deal went bust, Long remained on the open market and there was little news about him until yesterday’s Vikings audition. After two torn ACLs, it will be interesting to see what Long is capable of doing this season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Vikings Audition Garrett Reynolds
- Jake Long wasn’t the only offensive lineman to audition for the Vikings today, as Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter link) reports that Minnesota also took a look at Garrett Reynolds and Reid Fragel.
Vikings Audition Jake Long
The Vikings worked out Jake Long today, as Chad Graff of the Pioneer Press tweets. Coach Mike Zimmer confirmed the workout to reporters at a press conference earlier today. 
Long, 31, could be a good pickup in the wake of Andre Smith‘s elbow injury. Smith was placed on IR earlier today, meaning that he will be out for at least eight weeks.
Long, a former No. 1 overall pick, spent the 2015 season with the Falcons after signing on midway through September. The veteran was hoping to have a bounce-back season in Atlanta, but he wound up only appearing in four games and he didn’t start in any of those contests. In the year prior, Long saw time in just seven games for the Rams last season due to a torn ACL. In the year before that, Long also tore his ACL in St. Louis.
In 2014, Long’s last season which could be measured by advanced metrics, Pro Football Focus ranked Long as just the No. 36 tackle out of 84 qualified players. In 2013, however, Long graded out as the seventh-best tackle in the league with a strong 22.5 overall score, based on PFF’s advanced metrics. Those numbers suggest that Long could still be a productive player if he can return to full health.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Vikings To Place Andre Smith On IR
It’s official – the Vikings are placing offensive tackle Andre Smith on IR. Coach Mike Zimmer told reporters today that the veteran will have surgery tomorrow, likely ending his season in October. 
On Friday, we learned that Smith’s elbow injury could be a season-ender. Minnesota has been ravaged by injuries this year, but they have powered through and now sit atop the league with a 5-0 record. After topping the Texans 31-13 at home, the Vikings will rest up before traveling to Philadelphia in Week 7.
Smith came to the Vikings on a one-year, $3.5MM deal this offseason. While he was brought in to hold down the right tackle spot, reserve tackle Jeremiah Sirles has actually been outperforming him according to the advanced metrics. Pro Football Focus has Smith ranked as just the 71st best tackle out of 75 qualified players. Meanwhile, Sirles is No. 15.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Vikings GM On Bradford, Mindset, Draft
Ordinarily, if a team lost their starting quarterback and star running back, they’d probably throw in the towel. Not general manager Rick Spielman. The executive was aggressive following the season-ending injury to Teddy Bridgewater, sacrificing multiple draft assets to acquire Sam Bradford.
While the deal wasn’t universally embraced, it’s looked good through the first month of the season. The Vikings are currently 4-0, and Bradford has tossed four touchdowns and zero interceptions.
Spielman recently spoke about the Bradford trade with Brian Murphy of TwinCities.com. The whole article is worth checking out, but we compiled some of the notable quotes below:
On whether he’s willing to declare the Bradford trade “a win” for the Vikings:
“We’ve been happy with the progress Sam’s made and how he’s helped the football team, for sure. Hopefully we’ll continue to do what we’re doing and winning games. But there’s no gratification yet until the end of the season.”
On whether the Vikings would have made a similar trade in 2015 or 2014:
“I don’t know if you’re in the first year with a new coach, you’d go through with it. Where we’re at, the players we have right now, by doing that, it gave us the best opportunity to hopefully have a successful season.”
Would the team sacrifice more future assets to fill a glaring hole?
“That’s a unique position and a unique opportunity.
“You have to keep your eye on what your roster’s going to potentially look like next year, and contracts that you have coming up and guys you may have to potentially replace. We’re still going to always build through the draft. You can’t do that without having the draft picks.
“As we deal with injuries — and we’ve dealt with a lot of injuries — it goes to the testament of this coaching staff, the depth that we have behind these guys. Guys that maybe aren’t well known are stepping in and playing well for us at this point.”
Vikings To Place Andre Smith On IR?
Andre Smith has an elbow injury and it might end his season. The tackle’s injury is keeping him out of practice today and the team believes that it might be severe enough to warrant placing him on IR, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
The Vikings, unfortunately, have been wrecked by injuries this year. The first big blow came late in the summer when Teddy Bridgewater suffered a severe knee injury. Then, a torn meniscus knocked Adrian Peterson out for a minimum of two months and potentially for the entire season. Now, Minnesota might lose another starter in Smith.
Smith came to the Vikings on a one-year, $3.5MM deal. Smith, the sixth overall pick in the 2009 draft, was the Bengals’ starting right tackle for several seasons, making 73 starts in Cincinnati since first joining the club seven years ago. Although he has been a steady performer throughout his career, the 29-year-old became expendable in Cincinnati after the Bengals used their first two picks in the 2015 draft on offensive tackles.
Through one month of NFL football, the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus have Smith ranked as just the 69th best tackle out of 75 qualified players. Meanwhile, fellow Vikings tackle Jeremiah Sirles is rated No. 32.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Vikings Not Yet Planning To Try Out Kickers
Blair Walsh‘s struggles have not prompted Mike Zimmer to seek outside competition to push the embattled kicker, yet, Andrew Krammer of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
The third-year Vikings coach said it’s not yet time to invite competition for the team’s fifth-year kicker despite his issues since the Vikes’ painful wild-card defeat.
Walsh has a first-team All-Pro honor, in 2012, on his resume and has only missed five field goals in a season once — in 2014. Even last year before the disastrous 27-yard miss that would have beaten the Seahawks, he made 34-of-39 tries. However, the Vikings’ stellar start this season hasn’t included one from their place kicker.
The 26-year-old has missed three field goals (8-for-11) and two extra points, giving him the 28th-best conversion rate in the league. While he made all three of his field goals against the Packers and Panthers in Weeks 2-3, he missed from 46 against the Giants on Monday and from 37 against the Titans in Week 1. Walsh missed four PATs last season.
Minnesota signed Walsh to a four-year, $14MM extension last summer, with the deal keeping him under contract with the franchise until the 2019 season. At $3.25MM per year, Walsh is the league’s fifth-highest-paid kicker in terms of AAV.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.