The Minnesota Vikings have been severely impacted by injuries both in the offseason and in the first few days of training camp, especially to their secondary.
The Vikings have signed two free agents to their roster: Duke Shelley and Bobby McCain, who will play safety first. Khyree Jackson, a rookie draft pick, died in an automobile accident; Mekhi Blackmon had an ACL tear; and Shaquill Griffin, a free agent, is recovering from a hamstring ailment.
Shelley and McCain might not be sufficient.
Brian Flores, the defensive coordinator for the Vikings, and Xavien Howard, a free agent with the Miami Dolphins, could reunite, according to Bleacher Report’s Scouting Department.
Khyree Jackson’s untimely death was heartbreaking for many reasons beyond the impact it had on the Vikings’ roster. Bleacher Report said on July 31 that “the team could use some help at cornerback, but Jackson did have a chance to earn a starting job in training camp.”
From their time together with the Miami Dolphins, Howard has played for defensive coordinator Brian Flores. Therefore, the 31-year-old might fit very well in Minnesota.
From 2019 to 2021, Flores led the Dolphins as head coach for three seasons.
Under Flores, Howard led the NFL with 10 interceptions in his lone All-Pro year and was selected for two of his four Pro Bowls.
He protected his former head coach from what he saw as a bad reputation.
However, Flores receives a lot of attention from the media. However, Howard stated in a March podcast episode of “The OGs” that “he was a player-coach guy.” “It seems like he witnessed excellence from the G.O.A.T. [Tom Brady], as he is a Patriot. That’s just the way he always keeps guys close to him. That was our team back then, the Dolphins. He had expectations of everyone.
The owner of the Dolphins sacked Flores in 2022 after he set the team’s first winning records in 20 years.
This has nothing to do with numbers. Furthermore, it was ultimately about more than just performance, as Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post noted in January 2022. Ross found the atmosphere in those Dolphins’ headquarters unsettling. What Ross was seeing, hearing, and sensing did not sit well with him.
Schad claimed that Flores’ dismissal had more to do with “people” than the team’s performance.
Howard remarked, “Flores and I probably weren’t buddy-buddy, this and that.” “However, I admire his daily approach and the way he came in every day.” He’s going to eat your a** off if you’re not doing something correctly, regardless of who you are. Additionally, if you’re doing well, he won’t suck you in. It’s what you’re supposed to do, so stop worrying.
For racially discriminatory employment practices, Flores sued the Dolphins, the Denver Broncos, the New York Giants, and the NFL in February 2022.
There were rumors that Flores was considering a few head coach positions in 2024. He was not selected as a coach to cover one of the eight openings. When questioned in April, he played down the impact of the ongoing lawsuit on his failure to land a head coaching position.
The Vikings players have been raving about Flores ever since he arrived.
Noting that “the defense did their thing” in 2023, Howard concurred that Flores’ presence gave the Vikings a chance to consider him in free agency.
In order to save $18 million against the salary cap, the Dolphins chose to remove Howard from his five-year, $90 million contract. Over his career, he has made $89.1 million. But if the Vikings went for Howard, they would have to take into account factors beyond money.
ESPN’s New Service reported on June 7 that “Former Miami Dolphins star cornerback Xavien Howard sent a male teenager a sexually explicit photograph of the teen’s mother because she refused to get an abortion, a new court filing alleges.”
The claim was made on Thursday, June 6, 2024, in a lawsuit that a woman who is not the teen’s mother filed last year. Howard, 30, is accused by the lady who filed the lawsuit of surreptitiously filming them having sex and then sharing the recordings with others. She claims that Howard also disclosed sex recordings she had consented to make without her permission.
The Vikings have had to deal with a number of legal issues during the last 12 months, including the arrest of offensive coordinator Wes Phillips in December 2023 for driving under the influence.
On July 12, Jordan Addison was taken into custody on accusations of operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
According to ESPN’s Kevin Seifert, the Vikings banned Phillips for three weeks without pay in April. For his second legal issue in less than a year, Addison may be suspended for several games. In July 2023, Addison received a speeding and reckless driving citation from Minnesota police.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, general manager of the Vikings, has refrained from pursuing more costly fixes to improve the team’s depth at cornerback thus far.
It might not be attractive to add one with as many question marks as Howard.