Helter Skelter » One beat reporter has made it a ‘bold predictio

n’...which is nowhere near saying it’s going to happen"WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Vikings 2018 SeasonVikings 2019 OffseasonU.S. Bank StadiumMinnesota Vikings PodcastsShould the Vikings trade Xavier Rhodes?New http://www.thevikingslockerroom.com/authentic-pat-elflein-jersey ,272commentsOne beat reporter has made it a ‘bold prediction’...which is nowhere near saying it’s going to happenCSTShareTweetShareShareShould the Vikings trade Xavier Rhodes?Brad Rempel-USA TODAY SportsAhhhh, the off-season. A time of mock drafts, a new football league, bold predictions, and hot takes. We’ve started our mock drafts, and we spent this last weekend discussing the AAF, and I think there’s a lot to like there. We’ll get to a hot take from a noted NFL personality in a little bit (and it’s spicy hot), so for now, let’s knock out a bold prediction, shall we?Over at the Worldwide Leader, they asked all 32 NFL beat writers to come up with a bold prediction for the team they cover. Courtney Cronin, who I think is one of the best in the business, offered up her bold prediction for the Vikings, trading Xavier Rhodes. A portion of her explanation below:Let’s take a look at this, because the ‘let’s trade a CB’ talk is pretty frequent in Vikings Land, whether it’s Rhodes or Waynes. On one hand, this kind of makes sense. Rhodes is coming off a down year, battled some injuries more than in recent seasons, and has a hefty cap number ($13.4 mil) for 2019. If you believe that Holton Hill and Mac Alexander will continue to develop, Mike Hughes will bounce back from his torn ACL Womens Harrison Smith Jersey , and Trae Waynes will sign a contract extension, the Vikings probably do have more depth here than anywhere else on the roster. If you’re comfortable with those variables falling in Minnesota’s favor, Rhodes is the most likely player to fetch the most in a trade, be it players, draft picks, or both. The Vikings do need offensive line help, and if Rhodes could fetch a comparable player in return for the o-line, or a pick high enough in the draft to ensure Minnesota could take a top o-line prospect, it’s intriguing to think about.Still, this still feels like a ‘cut off your nose to spite your face’ move if it were to go down. Personally, I don’t think all those variables mentioned above will fall in favor of the Vikings; they rarely do. I have heard nothing on a contract extension for Waynes, it could take awhile for Hughes to get back into game shape and trust his knee completely, and as promising as Alexander and Hill have been, they’re still a roll of the dice as full time starters.At the beginning of last year EVERYONE thought the Vikings were fat at CB, and they were. Then Mike Hughes tore his ACL fairly early in the season, Rhodes started getting some more serious dings and bumps and missed a fair amount of time, and lo and behold by the end of the season Bob’s Your Uncle and Marcus Sherels is seeing some decent playing time as the dime back. As much as I love Marcus Sherels the return guy, I’m not a fan of Marcus Sherels the defensive back.Finally, I don’t understand the mentality in wanting to trade either Rhodes of Waynes. For Rhodes, it’s generally ‘well he had a bad year so let’s trade him.’ For Waynes Jaleel Johnson Jersey , it’s ‘well he finally had a good year so let’s see what we can get.’ Rhodes is still the best CB on the team, he just had a bad year. It happens. Wanting to move him after one down season seems very short sighted to me.For Waynes, I find the trade talk even more ironic, if we’re being honest. For three years, all most people talked about when they mentioned Waynes was that he was a bust and that he sucked. When he finally starts playing to the level people complained he hadn’t played at before (which I think was BS but that’s another post entirely), now those exact same folks want to trade him.I don’t get it, but that’s just me. EAGAN, Minn. — Two years away from free agency, Adam Thielen was among the best bargains in the NFL.Facing a tight salary cap situation, the Minnesota Vikings could have waited to reward Thielen, their two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver who was tied for fourth in the league with 113 receptions last season.Waiting, and creating potential tension with team cornerstones, hasn’t been their approach. So the Vikings and Thielen agreed to a four-year, $64 million contract extension last week.More Vikings coverageDuty might call for Vikings rookie long snapper CuttingRookie minicamp Q&A with Vikings head coach Mike ZimmerVikings sign nine members of 2019 draft classTop Tweets: Minnesota teams have fun with ‘Game of Thrones’Vikings decline fifth-year option for WR Laquon Treadwell“It shows what type of organization this is,” Thielen said this week as players began their first round of organized offseason workouts. “They’re not here to lowball people. They’re not here to take advantage of people. They want to reward the people that helped this football team win games and, ultimately, they want to win games. That’s probably one of the biggest reasons that I want to be here for a long time, because I want to win games. I guess it just shows what this organization is about and how they treat their players.”Thielen, the famously undrafted player from Division II Minnesota State who had the third-most receptions in franchise history last year, signed for an annual average of $16 million on his new deal that is the sixth highest among NFL wide receivers. He can earn as much as $73 million with incentives over the life of the contract covering the 2021-24 seasons.This was the latest move by Minnesota general manager Rick Spielman to maintain the foundation — mostly drafted-and-developed players — of a roster with a recharged Super Bowl aspiration. Thielen’s extension followed those given to wide receiver Stefon Diggs http://www.thevikingslockerroom.com/authentic-riley-reiff-jersey , defensive end Danielle Hunter and linebacker Eric Kendricks in the past year.The Vikings have thus created an environment, particularly on defense, built on remarkable continuity in a league that’s constantly turning over. The front office hasn’t shied away from extensions a year or more before free agency, and the players have shown a willingness to stay and forgo the chance to test an open market.“I feel like we just love playing with each other,” Kendricks said. “We know what kind of group we have. We have each other’s backs. I take a lot of trips with these guys in the offseason, and we just enjoy being together, working together. We know what we’re all chasing. I feel like it says a lot about what we’ve got.”Linebacker Anthony Barr was an outlier among recent high draft picks, in 2014, by the Vikings who hit free agency without an extension. He even agreed to join the New York Jets before reconsidering and staying where his heart was for a little less money.“I sent him a text like, ‘Hey, it’s going to be weird not playing with you,’ and he was like, ‘Just wait a second,'” said Kendricks, who has been a teammate of Barr’s since college at UCLA. “I’m like, ‘Oh, I see.’ Everything kind of played out how it did. Couldn’t be happier.”Barr’s decision even struck the typically stoic Harrison Smith. Speaking to reporters this week, the Pro Bowl safety choked up and acknowledged being surprised by the emotion he felt.“He’s one of my best friends,” said Smith, another high draft pick Womens Everson Griffen Jersey , in 2012, who never hit free agency. “Honestly, I wanted him to go get as much money as he could make. Pro sports, it’s how things happen. I obviously wanted him here, as well. So, I wasn’t going to be upset one way or the other. It’s an emotional game, and you make friendships, and you make plays together, and you’re pumped for the guy next to you. It’s why I play.”The feeling is mutual around the team’s facility.Tight end Kyle Rudolph said this week he’d be willing to restructure his contract to help the team’s salary cap situation and thus avoid being released. Defensive end Everson Griffen, the longest-tenured member of the team as a 2010 draft pick, already did that last month. Taking a pay cut was not his preference, of course, but the support he received from the team while taking a leave for mental health issues sure made it easier to stay.“They took care of me and they treated me like family,” Griffen said. “I’ve been here for 10 years. I’ve played good football for them, and I felt like they handled the situation that I was in perfectly. They took me under their wing. They made sure I had everything lined up, and it was a good thing. I just want to repay that. It’s always bigger than football.”