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Sharrif Floyd

Sharrif Floyd’s 2017 Salary Now Guaranteed

March 9th, 2017 at 4:06pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Vikings defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd‘s $6.757MM base salary for 2017 is now fully guaranteed, tweets Andrew Krammer of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.Sharrif Floyd (vertical)

Floyd, 26 in May, went down in the Vikings’ 2016 season opener and never returned to action. Since joining the team as a first-round pick in 2013, he has appeared in 44 games with 24 starts, missing two games in 2014, three games in 2015, and just about every game in 2016. The Vikings would probably like to get out of their obligation to Floyd, but recent comments by GM Rick Spielman indicated that the team has accepted the inevitable: he probably won’t get the greenlight from doctors and the Vikings will remain on the hook for his salary.

Floyd will earn his salary under the terms of his fifth-year option. Because that option is guaranteed for injury only, the Vikings can’t release him without paying that full charge.

Vikings Stuck With Sharrif Floyd For 2017?

March 1st, 2017 at 10:36am CST by Zachary Links

The Vikings, in theory, have a big decision to make when it comes to Sharrif Floyd. By March 9th, Minnesota must decide whether to keep Floyd at a base salary of $6.8MM or release him, per the terms of his fifth-year rookie contract option. However, the option is guaranteed for injury and Floyd has still not fully recovered from his left knee injury, according to Matt Vensel of the Star Tribune. Sharrif Floyd (vertical)

[RELATED: Vikings Interested In Latavius Murray]

Floyd, 26 in May, went down in the Vikings’ 2016 season opener and never returned to action. Since joining the team as a first-round pick in 2013, he has appeared in 44 games with 24 starts, missing two games in 2014, three games in 2015, and just about every game in 2016. The Vikings would probably like to get out of their obligation to Floyd, but recent comments by GM Rick Spielman indicated that the team has accepted the inevitable: he probably won’t get the greenlight from doctors and the Vikings will remain on the hook for his salary.

It remains to be seen when/if Floyd will be cleared for football activities.

Vikes Notes: AP, QBs, Kalil, Floyd, Greenway

February 23rd, 2017 at 6:22pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Vikings running back Adrian Peterson has a $6MM roster bonus due March 11, two days after the market opens, but general manager Rick Spielman told reporters Thursday that the rusher’s future “will get addressed here before free agency starts” (via Andrew Krammer of the Star Tribune). Spielman hasn’t yet spoken to Peterson or his representative, but it’s fair to suggest that the Vikings likely won’t exercise the seven-time Pro Bowler’s option. Even if they don’t, though, Spielman indicated he’s amenable to bringing back the soon-to-be 32-year-old Peterson at a lesser cost in 2017. “If we don’t exercise that option, we always will keep the door open on all of our players,” Spielman said.

Regardless of whether Peterson returns next season as Minnesota’s No. 1 back, it has “got to run the football better,” head coach Mike Zimmer told Lindsey Young of the team’s website. The Vikings finished dead last in rushing (1,205) and yards per carry (3.2) last season, and barely having Peterson available didn’t help. While Peterson posted a microscopic 1.9 YPC, he did it over just 37 carries, having missed most of the year because of a torn meniscus.

More from Spielman:

  • Sam Bradford will start under center next season for the Vikings, but the quarterback position is “in flux” beyond that, according to Spielman. The Vikings have another starting-caliber signal-caller, Teddy Bridgewater, though he missed the 2016 campaign and might not play next season on account of the devastating knee injury he suffered last August. Spielman responded to that by trading the club’s first-round pick in this year’s draft (and a fourth in 2018) to the Eagles for Bradford, and the executive maintains that he “would do that over in a millisecond to get Sam Bradford on our football team with the circumstances we were dealing with.” Bradford is “just right now in the prime of his career,” Spielman opined, and is due to hit free agency next winter. Although the Vikings only went 7-8 with Bradford (8-8 overall), the 29-year-old fared respectably atop an ultra-conversative passing offense, having set the single-season completion percentage record (71.6) and posted 20 touchdowns against five interceptions.
  • Like Bradford, Bridgewater could also become a free agent next offseason if the Vikings don’t control him via his fifth-year option, which they’ll have to exercise or decline by May. In updating Bridgewater’s recovery, Spielman said: “He’s in the process of working through his motion. I know he’s doing specific things in rehab to get him back to being functional. When he’s going to be ready for football, dropping back and things like that — I think that’s still to be determined.”
  • Elsewhere on offense, the Vikings could lose longtime No. 1 left tackle Matt Kalil to free agency. Spielman, though, seemed to imply interest in re-signing the 27-year-old. “We have a plan in place on everything,” he stated. “But I also know I have a pretty good history of trying to keep our own guys as well.” Kalil missed all but two games last year because of a hip injury, and he hasn’t lived up to expectations since going fourth overall in the 2012 draft. However, he racked up 16 starts in each of his four seasons prior to 2016 and now stands as one of the most accomplished pending free agent tackles in a weak class.
  • Defensively, Spielman noted that tackle Sharrif Floyd, a potential cap casualty, is “under contract.” Like Peterson and Kalil, Floyd barely took the field last season (one appearance). But “he’s a pretty good player” when healthy, offered Spielman, who added that the team’s defense missed Floyd last season. Floyd sounds safe based on those comments, then, but Spielman could cut him by March 9 and get out of the 25-year-old’s entire $6.75MM-plus cap hit for 2017. As with Floyd, linebacker Chad Greenway‘s fate for next season will become known by the first day of the league year. Greenway, 34, will decide by then whether to retire. The pending free agent revealed last month that he’d only continue his career as a Viking, with whom he has spent all 10 of his seasons.

Vikings Place DT Sharrif Floyd On IR

December 12th, 2016 at 2:51pm CST by Zachary Links

When defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd went down with a knee injury in the season opener, the Vikings figured they would be without him for a little while. They didn’t realize that the injury and subsequent surgery would cost him the entire season. The team is placing Floyd on injured reserve, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). To take his place, tackle Toby Johnson has been promoted to the 53-man roster. Sharrif Floyd (vertical)

The Vikings have had a number of significant injuries this season, including those suffered by Adrian Peterson, Teddy Bridgewater, Andre Smith, and Matt Kalil. Without Floyd, the Vikings have had to rely on Shamar Stephen as a starter on the interior next to Linval Joseph. Joseph has enjoyed a quality season, but Stephen is ranked as just the No. 87 defensive tackle in the league by Pro Football Focus. Fellow DT Tom Johnson has been decent, however, and is ranked No. 47 in the NFL.

Floyd, 25, was a first-round pick in the 2013 draft. Since then, he has appeared in 44 games with 24 starts, missing two games in 2014, three games in 2015, and just about every game in 2016. He’s under contract through 2017 after Minnesota exercised his fifth-year option worth $6.757MM.

Latest On Vikings’ Sharrif Floyd

November 10th, 2016 at 11:12am CST by Zachary Links

Back in September, Sharrif Floyd had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, putting him on the shelf for a good while. Floyd is now back at the Vikings’ training facility after rehabbing the injury, but it’s not clear when he’ll be back in action, coach Mike Zimmer told reporters. Sharrif Floyd (vertical)

“We didn’t think it was going to be six years’ worth of hurt,” the coach said (via Matt Vensel of the Star Tribune).

So far, it has been seven weeks since Floyd’s surgery and the clock is still ticking. The Vikings face the Redskins this Sunday, but it doesn’t sound like we should expect to see Floyd on the field. Minnesota is hoping that Floyd can get healthy sooner rather than later and shed his “injury prone” label. If he can’t, it seems possible that he could be put on IR and shut down for the year.

Floyd, 25, was a first-round pick in the 2013 draft. At the NFL level, he has appeared in 44 games with 24 starts, missing two games in 2014 and three games in 2015. With Floyd out, the Vikings have Shamar Stephen on the interior D-Line next to Linval Joseph. Behind them is veteran Tom Johnson, the only other true defensive tackle on the roster.

Knee Surgery For Vikings DT Sharrif Floyd

September 23rd, 2016 at 9:39am CST by Zachary Links

FRIDAY: Floyd underwent a successful right knee arthroscopy on Thursday, the team announced. He’ll miss roughly six weeks, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (Twitter link).

THURSDAY: Vikings defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd is having a procedure done on his injured knee, according to coach Mike Zimmer (via Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press on Twitter). Specifics of the procedure are not yet known, but it’s not a good sign after Floyd was pulled from Minnesota’s season opener with knee trouble. Sharrif Floyd (vertical)

[RELATED: Latest On Adrian Peterson]

Floyd, 25, was a first-round pick in the 2013 draft. At the NFL level, he has appeared in 44 games with 24 starts, missing two games in 2014 and three games in 2015. Of course, the Vikings are already banged up and they can’t afford to lose another player of note. Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is done for the year after a freaky leg injury and Adrian Peterson‘s season might be over after suffering a torn meniscus.

If Floyd has to miss time, the Vikings will continue to use Shamar Stephen as a starter on the interior line. They may look out of house for support as Tom Johnson is the last defensive tackle on the bench behind Stephen and Linval Joseph.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Vikings Pick Up Options On Xavier Rhodes, Sharrif Floyd

May 2nd, 2016 at 9:55am CST by Luke Adams

9:55am: The Vikings have informed Patterson that they won’t be picking up his option, a source tells Matt Vensel of the Star Tribune.

9:49am: The Vikings have option decisions on three players to announce today, and they’ve already made at least two of those decisions. According to agent Sunny Shah (via Twitter), Minnesota has picked up the fifth-year option on his client, cornerback Xavier Rhodes. The team has also exerciXavier Rhodessed its fifth-year option on defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).

[RELATED: 2017 Fifth-Year Option Decision Tracker]

Both moves had been anticipated, since Rhodes and Floyd have been solid pieces of the Vikings’ defense since joining the team, and their projected 2017 salaries aren’t exorbitant. Floyd, the 23rd overall pick in 2013, will earn a $6.757MM salary on his 2017 option year, while Rhodes, the 25th overall pick, will be in line for an $8.026MM salary.

While Floyd, who has started 23 games for Minnesota over the last two seasons, figures to continue in a similar role going forward, Rhodes will have a little more competition at cornerback in 2016 and 2017 — the Vikings used their second-round pick on Friday to nab Clemson’s Mackensie Alexander, one of the top cornerbacks in this year’s draft, so he’ll join Rhodes, Terence Newman, Trae Waynes, and Captain Munnerlyn in Minneapolis.

The Vikings’ third option decision today is for wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson, who would be owed a $7.915MM salary in 2017 if the team picks up his fifth-year option. It does not appear likely to be exercised.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Fifth-Year Option Notes: Vikings, Titans, 49ers

April 20th, 2016 at 4:15pm CST by Luke Adams

While most NFL teams only have one fifth-year option decision to make in the next couple weeks, assuming they haven’t already made that decision, the Vikings will have calls to make on three separate players. Thanks to a pair of trades, the Vikes had a trio of first-round picks in the 2013 draft, meaning defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd, cornerback Xavier Rhodes, and wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson are all eligible to have 2017 options exercised.

Let’s round up the latest updates on Minnesota’s option decisions, along with some other fifth-year option notes from around the NFL…

  • Patterson’s option for 2017 will be worth $7.915MM, making it more expensive than Floyd’s ($6.757MM) and nearly as pricey as Rhodes’ ($8.026MM). As such, given the wideout’s limited on-field impact, it would be a surprise if the Vikings pick it up, writes Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. However, Tomasson notes that Floyd’s and Rhodes’ options are near-locks to be exercised.
  • It doesn’t appear the Titans have made a final decision on the 2017 option for guard Chance Warmack, but Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com suggests the team may be leaning toward turning it down, given the exorbitant price ($11.902MM). Tennessee has until May 3rd to make a decision.
  • 49ers general manager Trent Baalke said today that the team intends to retain safety Eric Reid beyond the coming season, either by picking up his fifth-year option or by working out a longer-term deal, tweets Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group. Reid’s 2017 salary would be $5.676MM if the Niners exercise that option.
  • Check out PFR’s 2017 option tracker to keep tabs on all decisions that have been reported or announced so far.