An All-Pro cornerback still resides inside Xavier Rhodes, who believes the key to returning to his 2017 form is listening to his own body as he enters the second half of his NFL career.
Rhodes, 29, pinned last year's mediocre campaign — compared to the shutdown standard he set previously — on frustration from injuries that mounted because of a lack of rest and an unrelenting weekly workout schedule.
By the end of last season, during which Rhodes was listed as questionable five times and played a career-low 74% of snaps since becoming a starter, his broken parts mounted.
"Ankle, hammy, glute, back," Rhodes said. "Yeah."
Coach Mike Zimmer challenged Rhodes this offseason, saying the two-time Pro Bowler "needs to play up to his contract," which pays about $14 million annually.
An offseason of "scaled back" workouts, mixing Pilates, yoga and recovery treatments into his day, has Rhodes feeling primed for a rebound. The Vikings need him — quickly. This season's runway is short with the Falcons' Julio Jones, the Packers' Davante Adams and the Raiders' Antonio Brown coming in the first three weeks.
"We are just looking for him to be consistent," defensive coordinator George Edwards said. "He has done a good job of that thus far, and that way he will be consistent when it gets to the game."
Last season, Rhodes' injuries made him increasingly unable to use his 79-inch wingspan on receivers. He was the Vikings' most penalized player with more yellow flags (nine) than pass deflections (seven). More than half of those penalties came in the final five weeks, when he was dealing with hamstring, ankle and groin injuries at the end of the year.
