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.