With a player transitional strategy that’s prolonged numerous NFL careers at a high level, Minnesota could attempt moving their former First-team All-Pro cornerback to the back of the defense and avoid paying an inflated price for Anthony Harris.

There are a few things to “tackle” here. The first is the decline in the cornerback play in the Vikings’ Xavier Rhodes.

One can choose their metrics on this. But whether it be Pro Football Focus’ ranking of Rhodes in 2019…

#Vikings CBs QB Rating Allowed



1. Mackensie Alexander- 89.4

2. Mike Hughes – 94.5

3. Trae Waynes – 109.9

4. Xavier Rhodes – 127.8 — PFF MIN Vikings (@PFF_Vikings) December 28, 2019

…or what you have seen with your own two eyes on the football field. Rhodes has “lost” whatever it takes to cover even average NFL receivers in an effective manner.

Size, Strength, And Circumstances

At 6′ 1″, 220 pounds. Xavier Rhodes is one of the largest cornerbacks in the NFL. At age 29, he is now also one of the slowest.

In December, Vikings’ head coach Mike Zimmer, answering questions not only about Rhodes’ declining play but several emotional reactions to his own mistakes, said this about him:

“Xavier’s a good kid. We’ve always had our little moments, I guess you’d call it, but at the end of the day, he knows I’m always trying to do what’s best for him. He’s always trying to do what’s best for me. I have a ton of respect for him, not just him, every player. He’s done what we’ve asked him to do. He tries to do it.”

That certainly illustrated a distinct loyalty between coach and player, but at the end of the day, that hardly translates to success on the football field. “Trying” means nothing about declining foot speed in the NFL cornerback.

Safeties, however, are not required to be so fast. Their trade is one of anticipation, strength and tackling prowess. Though they employ the instincts of a corner, they are the last line of defense and their priority is to seal the perimeter and occasionally blow up plays before they start.

See one Harry “the Hitman” Smith. Hardly a speed merchant in anyone’s book, but a long, smart tackling machine that hits like a sack of bricks.

Sort of the way that Xavier Rhodes completes this play against the Detroit Lions in 2017. How many NFL cornerbacks “put a hat” on running backs back like that in this game?

In Bleacher Report’s excellent article from 2012, “Charles Woodson and the Transition from Cornerback to Safety”, writer Adam Weinberger essays how several prominent and even Hall-of Fame NFL corners made the move in the defensive secondary and gave their both their careers and their teams remarkable added value.

Among them:

Rod Woodson: Made the move in 1999 and went to four consecutive Pro Bowls as well as being selected a First-team All-Pro selection in 2002. Charles Woodson: Spent the last four years of his career at free and strong safety. He retired after a 2015 Pro Bowl season playing for the Oakland Raiders. Charles Tillman: At only 31 years old, Tillman, a 6′ 2″ monster tackler, played both safety and corner for the Chicago Bears in a season where he made both the Pro Bowl and First-team All-Pro.

Other corners turned safeties include Tampa Bay’s Ronde Barber, Minnesota’s own Antoine Winfield and Charger Quentin Jammer.