Sunday could mark the end of a Vikings era for a pair of players who have made multiple Pro Bowls.

It is possible that defensive end Everson Griffen and cornerback Xavier Rhodes will play their final game for the team in the playoff opener at New Orleans. The Vikings are an eight-point underdog and, regardless of how the season ends, the team will head into free agency in March with salary-cap issues.

In March, Griffen, 32, can opt out of a contract that has three years left and calls for him to be paid $12.9 million for the 2020 season. Even if he doesn’t opt out, the three-time Pro Bowl selection has no guaranteed money left on his deal and likely would have to take a pay cut to remain with the team.

Rhodes, 29, in line to have a base salary of $9.9 million in 2020, has three years but no guaranteed money left on his contract. Rhodes’ performance has declined significantly since he was named All-Pro in 2017 and made the second of his two career Pro Bowls.

He said Thursday his preference is to remain with the Vikings but doesn’t know what might happen.

“If I’m not here, then I’m not here,” said Rhodes, who has spent all of his seven-year NFL career with the Vikings. “I’m not going to sit here and cry about it. That’s the game. Not many people are on one team for their whole career.”

Griffen, in his 10th season with the Vikings, agreed to take a pay cut in March from $10.9 million to a base salary of $6.4 million to stay with the team. He declined to speculate on whether he will opt out of his contract or whether this could be his final season in Minnesota.

“Right now, I don’t know what’s going to be my last game,” said Griffen, a Pro Bowl selection from 2015-17. “We want to go into New Orleans and win, so we’re going to take it one day at a time, one step at a time, and we’re going to go in there and do our job on a high level to get this W.”

Griffen has said on multiple occasions he wants to play his entire career with the Vikings.

“I love the Minnesota Vikings,” he said Thursday.

Griffen has had a solid season and was ranked 25th out of 106 edge rushers by Pro Football Focus. However, the Vikings, in addition to their salary-cap issues, have some talented young reserves at his position in Stephen Weatherly and Ifeadi Odenigbo, although Weatherly is bound for free agency.

Griffen earned a right in November to void the final three years of his contract when he had his sixth sack of the season and became assured of playing in 57 percent of the team’s defensive plays. He ended up with eight sacks and played 77.6 percent of the snaps.

If the Vikings do release Griffen, they would incur $800,000 of dead money for 2020.

Rhodes has had a trying season, ranking 118th of 125 cornerbacks by Pro Football Focus. Since he struggled in a Dec. 2 game at Seattle and got into a sideline argument with coach Mike Zimmer (Rhodes apologized two days later), the Vikings have rotated cornerbacks. Related Articles Vikings’ Harrison Smith calls it ‘cool’ being named a captain for first time in NFL career

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Rhodes didn’t play in last Sunday’s regular-season finale against Chicago, when most starters sat out. In the previous game, he was in for 62.3 percent of the snaps in a 23-10 loss to Green Bay on Dec. 23.

Rhodes said he “wasn’t mad” when the cornerback rotation started.

“I’m all right with it,” he said. “As long as it helps the team win, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter to me, it shouldn’t matter to anybody else on this team. We all feel good about it.”

If the Vikings release Rhodes, they would incur $4.8 million of dead money for 2020.

“If you see me here, we’ll be talking more,” Rhodes said of next season. “If you don’t … there goes your answer.”