MINNEAPOLIS -- In Feburary 2016 -- four months before the Minnesota Vikings agreed to a five-year, $51.25 contract with safety Harrison Smith -- the notion that a deal would eventually get done was obvious enough that general manager Rick Spielman said as much in a press conference.

It was noteworthy at the time, given Spielman's long-stated preference not to discuss contract matters in public. Spielman did it again at the NFL combine in March with the Vikings' other Pro Bowl defensive back, Xavier Rhodes.

The prospects of a Rhodes contract extension in the coming months are nearly as obvious as the ones for Smith's deal last summer, given Rhodes' development into a Pro Bowl cornerback at age 26 and his emergence last season as a shutdown corner capable of quieting some of the game's best receivers. When the Vikings do get a deal done, though, they can expect to pay dearly.

The New England Patriots gave former Buffalo Bills corner Stephon Gilmore a five-year, $65 million deal in March, tapping the 26-year-old with Malcolm Butler still not signed to a restricted free-agent tender. And over the weekend, the Atlanta Falcons struck a deal that might have even greater bearing on Rhodes' price, signing Desmond Trufant to a five-year, $68.75 million deal that includes $42 million in guarantees.

Xavier Rhodes is about to hit it big financially for the Vikings. AP Photo/Jim Mone

Trufant, who was picked four spots ahead of Rhodes in 2013, was set to play for the Falcons in 2017 on the same $8.026 million, fifth-year option that Rhodes currently has with the Vikings. He's 83 days younger than Rhodes, and his statistics through four seasons are so close to the ones Rhodes has put up with the Vikings, it seems a virtual lock Trufant's name will be on the lips of Rhodes' agent, Sunny Shah, during negotiations (if it hasn't been already).

Trufant has started all 57 games he's played in four seasons; Rhodes has played 59 and started 52. Both players have seven career interceptions; Rhodes has 133 return yards to Trufant's 28, thanks largely to his 100-yard return TD last November against Arizona. Rhodes has 49 career pass breakups; Trufant has 48.

Rhodes trails Trufant in forced fumbles (three to two), fumble recoveries (four to zero) and sacks (three to zero) but has 11 more tackles. While Trufant plays the Richard Sherman role in Dan Quinn's defense, locking down one side of the field, Rhodes' camp can make the argument he's been asked to do more in coverage. The Vikings often ask him to shadow one receiver, like they did with Odell Beckham Jr. and DeAndre Hopkins in back-to-back games last October.

Whether Rhodes gets a little less or a little more than Trufant -- and in the usual order of things, the player who signs later gets more -- he's likely to become one of the game's highest-paid corners in the near future. His value to the Vikings, and the scarcity of top-end cover corners in the NFL, makes his impending raise relatively plain to see.

The deal wouldn't have to affect the Vikings' 2017 cap picture -- in Smith's case, the team added five years beyond his fifth-year option, keeping his first-year salary the same as in his option -- but it's about to become a fact of life for a team that has some big decisions to make in the near future.

Stefon Diggs, Everson Griffen, Danielle Hunter, Linval Joseph and Eric Kendricks are all set to become free agents after 2018. Anthony Barr would also hit the open market at that point if the Vikings pick up his fifth-year option in May. And none of that takes into account the upcoming decision at quarterback, where Sam Bradford is set to hit free agency after next season and Teddy Bridgewater could also move toward the open market if the Vikings decline his fifth-year option next month.

Spielman and Vikings cap guru Rob Brzezinski won't be asking for your sympathy, not when the prospect of paying so many defensive players is a positive side effect of the impressive unit the team has built with young pieces. But Rhodes' deal, whenever it is finalized, figures to be the first domino to fall in what could be an expensive set of upcoming decisions.