Vikings Can't Afford to Play Xavier Rhodes Anymore and He Knows It

In terms of enduring a fall from grace, what on earth has happened to Minnesota Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes?

A Pro Bowler in both 2016 and 2017, Rhodes wasn't his typical shutdown self last season, but most pundits assumed he would return to his dominant form in 2019. Well, that has been anything but the case, and another woeful performance against the Seattle Seahawks on Monday night proves the Vikings are likely be better off with him on the bench the rest of the way.

If his poor play wasn't enough to convince you, Rhodes' quote following the loss will surely do the trick.

That pretty much sums it up.

Why on earth would Mike Zimmer deploy a player who has no intentions of returning to Minnesota next season? Rhodes has been torched all season long and has promptly lost the trademark as one of the NFL's most feared defensive backs.

That's not even to mention that he confronted Zimmer on the sidelines after David Moore beat him for a 60-yard touchdown.

To put his woes into perspective, the Florida State product, per Pro Football Focus, entered MNF conceding a 126 passer rating and whopping 9.5 yards per attempt to quarterbacks, the 11th worst out of 135 qualified CBS.

Frankly, we should have seen this coming given Rhodes antics from this past offseason, consistently hinting that he wanted out of Minnesota in press conferences and on social media.

We don't care that he's the fourth highest-paid cornerback in the league. Rhodes is not the same player he was a couple years ago, and his ineptitude is costing the Vikings dearly and he deserves to be benched.