New Vikings cornerback Isaiah Rodgers has experienced high of Super Bowl, low of suspension

In his introductory news conference with Twin Cities media Wednesday, newly-signed Vikings cornerback Isaiah Rodgers shared his experiences with the highs of winning a Super Bowl as a role player with the Eagles last season to the lows of being suspended for the entire 2023 season after being caught violating the NFL’s policy on gambling while with the Colts.

“I think the first thing I realized [about 2023] was the league doesn’t need anybody,” he said in a video call. “The league was still going on without me. It was, ‘Wow, nobody really cares.’”

Humbling, to say the least.

“I just knew that whole moment was something I needed,” said Rodgers, a 2020 sixth-round pick of the Colts. “Me sitting out a year and coming back and knowing nothing matters in my past but it’s how I respond knowing I was trying to change the narrative of my name, change my future. Continue to build my story up.

“I kind of stepped away from football and tried to understand where I was as a person. I just focused more on being a great son, a great father, a great partner. That was my main thing. Then getting back to the game it was like the missing piece to the puzzle that I needed. I can enjoy football now.”

As for winning a Super Bowl? Well, Rodgers is sporting a new Super Bowl logo tattoo.

“Took four hours,” he said. “Now I got to figure out where I’m going to put the next one.”

Apparently, the Vikings’ lofty reputation for providing a player-friendly home — culled from finishing first or second in each of the first three years of the NFL Players’ Association’s player surveys — is helping.

“They got a reputation in the league for how they run their organization,” new defensive tackle Javon Hargrave said Wednesday. “That was kind of a big thing for me, too. Just seeing everything, the reports of how good they take care of their players, I think that’s a big thing in the NFL.”

His new linemate Jonathan Allen went a step further, saying, “I would probably say it was between 20 and 50 percent of my decision when you look at year in and year out how they’re graded. I definitely say it played a part, for sure.”

Allen added that he and his Minneapolis-based agent, Blake Baratz, listed key categories that were important once he knew the Commanders didn’t want him back.

“City, how the team treated the wives and family, salary cap, team success, scheme, coaches and, honestly, culture,” Allen said. “And at the top of that list was the Minnesota Vikings.”

Left tackle Cam Robinson, who spent the back half of the season in Minnesota after Christian Darrisaw was injured, has agreed to terms with the Texans, a source confirmed on Wednesday.

The Vikings acquired Robinson at the trade deadline in late October from Jacksonville, where he’d spent the first seven full seasons of his NFL career. He appeared in and started 10 games for the Vikings.

Last week, the Vikings traded offensive guard Ed Ingram to the Texans in exchange for a 2026 sixth-round pick. Houston is in the process of rebuilding its offensive line, which allowed 54 sacks — the third-most in the country — on quarterback C.J. Stroud last fall.

Robinson allowed 49 QB pressures while in Minnesota, four of which led to sacks, according to Pro Football Focus. He played 706 snaps.

Emily Leiker of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this story.