Vikings coach Mike Zimmer wasn’t shy about how he felt about the play of cornerback Xavier Rhodes last season. Zimmer, per The Athletic’s Chad Graff, says that Rhodes needs to play better and “needs to play up to that contract.” Mike Zimmer on Xavier Rhodes: "Xavier needs to play better. I’m going to make sure he plays better. … I just don’t think he played as well as he can play. He needs to play up to his ability level. We’re paying him a lot of money. He needs to play up to that contract." — Chad Graff (@ChadGraff) March 26, 2019 Well, that’s what we call “shots fired” in the business. Rhodes is just a year removed from being named an All-Pro and to the Pro Bowl team for the second-consecutive season. But 2018 was a disappointment for the 28-year-old corner. Per Pro Football Focus, Rhodes finished with a grade of 58.2, a mark that ranked 101 out of 112 graded corners. That is the opposite of “Rhodes Closed.” Rhodes made $10.9 million last season and will make the same in 2019. That’s too much money for an average to below average player. We know that Rhodes is capable of much more, though, and it’s actually kind of refreshing that his coach isn’t sugarcoating that.<doc-sep>Mike Zimmer says it’s time for Xavier Rhodes to start earning his big salary. Rhodes signed a five-year, $70 million contract extension in July 2017. In 2018, his first season as one of the NFL’s highest-paid cornerbacks, his play fell off, and his two-year streak of making the Pro Bowl ended. “He needs to play up to his ability level, and I need to make sure he does that.” the Vikings coach told reporters Tuesday at the NFL owners meetings in Phoenix. “We’re paying him a lot of money. He needs to play up to his contract.” Rhodes, whose base salary of $10.4 million is guaranteed for 2019, was bogged down last season by several injuries, and missed two games. But Zimmer didn’t cite that as the reason for his performance slipping. “He hasn’t lost speed, he hasn’t lost athletic ability,” Zimmer said. “He’s kind of gotten away from his technique a little bit, and we’re going to get back to it.” Overall, though, defense hasn’t been Minnesota’s top concern this offseason. The Vikings have finished in the top four in NFL total defense for three straight seasons. In 2018, the Vikings were 20th in the NFL in total offense, one reason being a shaky offensive line. The Vikings signed free agent Josh Kline to a three-year, $15.75 million deal last week, and he likely will take over as the starting right guard. Zimmer expects Kline to “fit in well,” but the Vikings aren’t done tinkering with the line. They need a starter at left guard, and Zimmer confirmed one possibility could be moving Riley Reiff from left tackle to left guard and moving Brian O’Neill from right to left tackle. That would result in a starting spot open at right tackle. At quarterback, Zimmer said he believes Kirk Cousins will improve with Minnesota’s new offensive scheme. In January, the Vikings brought in Gary Kubiak as assistant head coach/offensive adviser. Kubiak will work with offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski, and the Vikings will utilize many of the concepts Cousins used when he was a first-time starter with Washington in 2013 under coordinator Kyle Shanahan. Zimmer said he had an “interesting” conversation about Cousins on Monday with Shanahan, now San Francisco’s coach. “It’s games, that’s where (Cousins has) got to play better. …. He’s going to play good (in 2019),” Zimmer said. “This offense with Kubiak and Stefanski is going to be right down his alley.” The Vikings are searching for a backup quarterback after free agent Trevor Siemian signed last week with the New York Jets. A source said the Vikings would bring in free agent Sean Mannion for a visit this weekend; he played the past four seasons with the Rams. If signed, Mannion would compete with Kyle Sloter, last year’s third-stringer. “We’d like to have a veteran (quarterback) if we could, but we’re not going to rule out bringing in a rookie or Kyle (for the backup role),” Zimmer said. SPIELMAN’S CONTRACT General manager Rick Spielman has had his contract extended one year through 2020. Spielman said last month that Zimmer received a one-year extension through 2020, but wouldn’t comment on his own deal. Vikings president Mark Wilf told reporters in Phoenix that their contracts have been “synched up.” ETC. Michigan State announced Cousins will speak at the May 3 undergraduate convocation and will receive an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree. Cousins played at the school from 2008-11.<doc-sep>Xavier Rhodes is one of the better cornerbacks in the NFL when healthy and locked in, but that was not always the case for the star defensive back of the Minnesota Vikings in 2018. That led to some comments from head coach Mike Zimmer earlier this week that suggested he needed to start playing up to the money that was given to him, which apparently has struck a nerve with Rhodes. Rhodes' recent Twitter activity, namely his liked posts, suggest that he wants a fresh start and that Zimmer is blaming players instead of himself. He does not like a ton of tweets, or use his account as much as other players do, but three likes in the matter of a day or so on one subject matter certainly raises some eyebrows. It does not appear #Vikings CB Xavier Rhodes is taking kindly to Mike Zimmer telling him he needs to play up to his contract, judging by his Twitter likes as of late. pic.twitter.com/1FYrba0gbA — Anthony Broome (@anthonytbroome) March 28, 2019 “He hasn’t lost speed, he hasn’t lost athletic ability,” Zimmer said at the Owners Meetings in Phoenix earlier this week. “He’s kind of gotten away from his technique a little bit and we’re going to get back to it. “I just don’t think he played as well as he can play and he needs to play up to his ability level, and I need to make sure that he does that. We’re paying him a lot of money; he needs to play up to that contract.” Rumors had swirled earlier this offseason that teams were calling the Vikings about a potential trade for Rhodes or Trae Waynes, who is set to make $9.9 million fully guaranteed this offseason on his fifth-year option on a rookie contract. Rhodes signed a lucrative extension with the team prior to the start of the 2017 season that pays out $70.1 million over five seasons at an average annual value of around $14 million per year. $32.8 million of that was guaranteed at signing and he received a $12 million signing bonus. Should the Vikings trade Rhodes this offseason, it would clear $6.1 in cap space, but carry a dead cap hit of $7.2 million prior to June 1. After June 1, it would save them about $11 million against the cap with a dead cap hit of $2.4 million in 2019 and $4.8 million in 2020. Rhodes was selected in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft out of Florida State by the Vikings with the No. 25 overall pick. Since he joined the team, he has made a pair of Pro Bowl appearances in 2016 and 2017 with starts in 82 of the 89 career games that he has suited up for in a Vikings uniform. He also has 309 total tackles to go along with 10 interceptions, one of which was a pick-six that went for 100 yards back during the 2016 campaign. (There are still Super Bowl aspirations in Minnesota despite missing the playoffs in 2018, leading to a key offseason of decisions and moves --Don't miss any of the action! Sign up for our FREE Vikings newsletter here!) The offseason is in full swing as NFL teams work to build for this 2019 season and beyond. The major waves of free agency are now over and next up is the 2019 NFL Draft, which kicks off from Nashville, Tennessee on April 25, 2019 and runs through April 27, 2019. The first round will be held on Thursday night, followed by the second and third round on Friday night and will conclude with rounds four through seven on Saturday.<doc-sep>
PHOENIX -- Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer wants to see Pro Bowl cornerback Xavier Rhodes return to his "Rhodes Closed" form that rose to prominence throughout the 2017 season. During Tuesday's coaches breakfast at the annual NFL owners meetings in Phoenix, Zimmer expressed disappointment in the way Rhodes performed last season and prioritized working with the former first-round pick to help him rebound in 2019. "Xavier needs to play better," Zimmer said. "He needs to play better. I'm going to make sure that he plays better because those guys are important in our defense and what we do. That's going to be part of it. It's partly my job to make sure that he plays better, and I'm going to." Rhodes, who has been tasked with shadowing opponents' No. 1 receiver for several seasons, saw a considerable dip in production. His 2018 was soured by a string of nagging injuries along with one of the worst statistical seasons of his career. Rhodes was hit with nine penalties and allowed the highest completion percentage of his career (65.2) and the second-highest passer rating (88.4) into his coverage, according to Pro Football Focus. Zimmer, who has coached Rhodes since 2014, elaborated that the cornerback's play did not equate to the level he's reached in previous years or the amount the team is paying him. Rhodes, who signed a five-year extension in 2017 with $32.8 million in total guarantees, accounts for $13.337 million against Minnesota's cap this season. "I just don't think he played as well as he can play and he needs to play up to his ability level and I need to make sure he does that," Zimmer said. "We're paying him a lot of money, he needs to play up to that contract." The series of hamstring, foot and groin injuries Rhodes battled through in 2018 limited him to 14 games. The cornerback admitted to possibly "overdoing it, overworking my body" at the conclusion of the Vikings' 8-7-1 season and attributed his health issues to trying to get back onto the field too quickly. The cornerback, who will be 29 this season, defended seven passes and notched an interception in 2018. While Rhodes is approaching an age where some cornerbacks find it difficult to maintain the speed and athleticism needed to track elite receivers, Zimmer said he doesn't see that as an issue. "He hasn't lost speed, he hasn't lost athletic ability, he's kind of gotten away from his technique a little bit and we're going to get back to it," Zimmer said. Still, despite Rhodes' struggles and health concerns, Zimmer is pleased overall with the status of his cornerback depth headed into 2019. "Yeah, I think we got some good corners," he said. "I think Mike Hughes is going to be a really good player. It was really unfortunate that he got hurt. Holton Hill has a chance to be a really good player. We're always going to keep looking for corners because they get hurt and it's important in our defense that we have them. I think Mackensie [Alexander] played better last year than he's played in his three years that he's been here and that helped us a lot with the things we do. The nickelback position, those guys play 700-800 plays a game now. That was good that he played well."