The Minnesota Vikings were going to have some tough decisions to make this offseason. They made a couple of those decisions yesterday. They probably made the decisions weeks ago. They acted upon those decisions yesterday. Cornerback Xavier Rhodes, defensive tackle Linval Joseph, and tight end David Morgan were released. The Vikings entered this offseason with a whisper of salary cap room. Releasing Rhodes, Joseph, and Morgan boosted the available cap room from just over $1 million to about $20 million. The players were considered likely salary cap casualties but that's not entirely accurate. They were probably released more for performance issues than salary cap issues. Rhodes clearly hasn't been the same player that he was as recently as 2017. Injuries were a factor in 2018 but his play continued to decline through last season. Joseph also battled through injury issues the last couple seasons but even when healthy he wasn't destroying opposing linemen and crushing the run like he'd done in the past. If both players had played in 2019 as they'd played for so many years, the Vikings likely would've looked elsewhere for salary cap relief. Morgan is a whole other issue. An injury and surgeries to fix that injury kept him out for the entirety of the 2019 offseason and season. He was on the final year of his rookie deal last season. As a fifth round pick, his contract was a relatively itty-bitty $735,000. That barely registers in comparison to the cap savings of releasing Rhodes and Joseph. Since Morgan didn't play at all last season the final year of his contract was scheduled to "toll" into the 2020 season. If he didn't pass a physical, the Vikings would be committed to that contract. They decided not to take that gamble. If Morgan is healthy enough to continue playing in the league, the only thing that might keep the Vikings from bringing him back is the Kyle Rudolph, Irv Smith Jr., and Tyler Conklin trio of tight ends. Morgan's blocking is something that none of that trio brings. For that reason alone, I'd like to see the team re-sign Morgan. If he's healthy.
This is one of the toughest aspects of being a fan of a sports team. Xavier Rhodes and Linval Joseph were excellent football players. They were significant contributors to one of the best defenses in the league. From about 2015 and through 2017, Rhodes was arguably the best cornerback in the league. I would've taken him over any other corner. He took some of the league's most dangerous receivers away from their team. Rhodes Closed. He was a fast, physical blanket of a corner. Joseph was simply a wall on the interior of the defensive line. Once he settled himself in the defense in his second year with the team there were stretches of games that he just took over. The opponents run game no longer existed. He was a consistent presence in the offensive backfield. Rhodes and Joseph were team leaders. They were on-field coaches to the younger players. By all accounts, both were wonderful people on and off the field. Personally, both were among my favorite Vikings players. Now, and throughout the team's history. I already miss them.
There's always a chance that the Vikings bring them back at a more team-friendly deal. I think that's probably more likely for Joseph than Rhodes. Presently, I wouldn't count on either.
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