Just days after letting Pierre Desir walk, the Indianapolis Colts found their replacement.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Colts and veteran Minnesota Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes have agreed to a one-year deal.
Former Vikings’ All-Pro CB Xavier Rhodes is signing a one-year deal with the Indianapolis Colts, @ShahSportsGroup tells ESPN. Rhodes will be a free agent again after 2020 season.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 26, 2020
Terms for the contract have not been released yet, but surely some of the money saved by releasing Desir was used.
The Colts elected to save nearly $7 million by releasing Desir, who started last season and just signed with the New York Jets.
That opened up the door for the Colts to make Rhodes an essential target.
Who Is Xavier Rhodes?
Rhodes is going to be 30 years old in June and is a three-time Pro Bowl selection.
A former first-round pick (25th overall) in 2013, Rhodes spent his entire career with the Minnesota Vikings up to this point.
Rhodes made the First-Team All-Pro list in 2017.
He also holds the Vikings’ record for the longest interception return (100 yards) in 2016.
Former Vikings’ All-Pro CB Xavier Rhodes is signing a one-year deal with the Indianapolis Colts, @ShahSportsGroup tells ESPN. Rhodes will be a free agent again after 2020 season.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 26, 2020
However, Rhodes was cut by the Vikings to save cap space.
He appeared to struggle at times and fell out of favor of head coach Mike Zimmer according to Pro Football Talk’s Darin Gant.
He Was Just A Star
The 2019 season might have been a “down year,” but only because of the high standard set earlier and was still named to the Pro Bowl.
Rhodes was named to the Pro Bowl in 2016, 2017, and 2019.
Last season, Rhodes finished with a career-high 63 tackles, but just six passes defended and zero interceptions.
Gonna miss these tackles from Xavier Rhodes #Vikings pic.twitter.com/5ed6R6rfwE
— HaiValentine (@HaiJwhealen) March 21, 2020
There is a reason for concern given that 2018 and 2019 are back-to-back years of finishing without double-digits in passes defended.
In 2016 and 2017, Rhodes finished with 11 and 10 passes defended, including five interceptions in 2016.
The stats don’t lie and a change of scenery could be a good thing.
Not A High Cost
By cutting Rhodes, the Vikings saved nearly $8 million and took a $4.8 million hit of dead money.
By signing Rhodes, the Colts could get high production at a low cost.
Despite his career-high in tackles, the advanced analytics claim that Rhodes was one of the worst on the field.
120 CBs were on the field for 300+ snaps this season
6 had a lower PFF grade than Pro Bowler Xavier Rhodes pic.twitter.com/TgK0tszWN5
— PFF (@PFF) January 21, 2020
With that being said, the goose egg in the interceptions column does not help his case either.
However, that means the Colts do not have to break the bank to sign Rhodes.
His lack of production in the last couple of seasons had driven the price tag down.
It looks like GM Chris Ballard signed Rhodes to a “one-year, prove it” deal.
However, the depth chart on defense appears to be coming along if Rhodes can successfully prove it.
#Colts are building a monster starting defense 🔥🔥🔥
DL: Justin Houston / Denico Autry / DeForest Buckner / Kemoko Turay
LB: Darius Leonard / Anthony Walker / Bobby Okereke
CB: Xavier Rhodes / Rock Ya-Sin / Kenny Moore
S: Malik Hooker / Khari Willis pic.twitter.com/0SPYcsgom2
— Locked On Colts Podcast (@LockedOnColts) March 26, 2020
