Tag: Mackensie Alexander

Vikings revamping cornerback room listed as team’s biggest regret

Minnesota will have a new-look cornerback corps in 2020. Do you think that will hurt them?

Minnesota saw a mass exodus in free agency, specifically at the cornerback position.

The Vikings lost Xavier Rhodes, Trae Waynes and Mackensie Alexander, all of whom were big contributors on the team in 2019.

Minnesota went about replacing some of the lost talent with draft picks. It will probably rely on rookies and younger reserves in order to find success at corner next season.

Bleacher Report thinks Minnesota might come to regret that decision. The outlet listed revamping the cornerback room as the team’s biggest regret that it should have for the 2020 season. Here’s what they said about the choice:

“Gone are Xavier Rhodes, Mackensie Alexander and Trae Waynes. In their places are rookie corner Jeff Gladney and third-year corner Mike Hughes, who has appeared in just 20 games because of injuries.

While they may prove to be capable starters in time, there’s no guarantee that they replace quality contributors like Alexander and Rhodes, who has made three Pro Bowls and earned an All-Pro selection.”

Sure, the young cornerbacks may need some time to adjust to a big role in the NFL, but Rhodes wasn’t exactly in his prime in 2019. Waynes was serviceable, but probably not worth what the Bengals gave him.

Overall, I think the Vikings may actually be better at corner than they used to be. With Anthony Harris solidified for 2020, barring a trade or injury, and Harrison Smith back deep with him, the corners at least have safeties who care capable of minimizing some of the mistakes they may make.

10 available free agents who could help the Eagles in 2020

Here are 10 players who are available in free agency and can help the Philadelphia Eagles.

The NFL’s first wave of free agency has come and gone with the Eagles making some big moves and trading for a shutdown cornerback.

The NFL draft is scheduled to proceed as a scheduled and the Eagles have a little less than a month to add more talent via free agency.

With a ton of talent still on the open market, here are 10 players that the Eagles could look to add via free agency.

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Jan 13, 2018; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Atlanta Falcons running back Devonta Freeman (24) is tackled by Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Fletcher Cox (91) during the first quarter in the NFC Divisional playoff game at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-USA TODAY Sports

1. Devonta Freeman, RB,

The Falcons released Freeman to free up cap space and after a season in which he had 1,066 yards from scrimmage but averaged just 3.6 yards per carry, Freeman could be the perfect complimentary piece to Miles Sanders in a backup role.

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Trae Waynes thrilled about reunion with Mackensie Alexander on Bengals

Two former Vikings are now teammates on the Bengals.

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The Cincinnati Bengals spurred a reunion of former teammates this offseason in free agency by bringing aboard cornerbacks Trae Waynes and Mackensie Alexander, formerly of the Minnesota Vikings.

Waynes, as seen in the social media post below, was thrilled about the reunion.

Waynes, a first-round pick by the Mike Zimmer-led Vikings in 2015, was the first to agree to sign with the Bengals after a $42 million offer sheet went out. Alexander, a second-round pick by those Vikings in 2016, signed a prove-it deal.

With Waynes on the outside and Alexander in the slot, Cincinnati has some instant chemistry between two of its top corners. Based on their play style in the past, they also have sure tacklers against the run and guys who don’t get penalized often.

View this post on Instagram

That's MY DAWG!!! #whodey

A post shared by Trae Waynes (@trae.26) on

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Bengals possibly found one of free agency’s biggest steals with Mackensie Alexander

The Bengals found a free-agent gem with Mackensie Alexander.

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Trae Waynes got the massive money from the Cincinnati Bengals — Mackensie Alexander might’ve been the better value signing, if not one of free agency’s bigger steals.

Alexander’s deal with the Bengals understandably didn’t get as much attention as Waynes’ contract. The former Minnesota Vikings teammates typically fell into that sort of hierarchy during their time together in the NFC too.

But Alexander arrives in Cincinnati as the surefire starting slot corner in place of Darqueze Dennard, who went and signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Alexander is solid in coverage, terrific against the run, a sound tackler, doesn’t get penalized and doesn’t miss a ton of time.

Sounds great at one year and $4 million, right?

Some more evidence of the “steal” material here:

Last year alone, Alexander let up just 38 completions on 58 targets with two touchdowns and missed none of his 38 total tackles.

If it all sounds like a Dennard situation as Alexander looks to prove himself for a big payday a year later — it is.

And that’s a big value for a Bengals team that wanted to redo its cornerback corps and effectively replaces a starter with Alexander. The big moves got the headlines — just don’t forget Alexander.

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Mackensie Alexander reportedly leaving means the Vikings have to make some serious moves

Mackensie Alexander reportedly agreed to terms with the Bengals. That’s a head-scratcher. Now it’s time for the Vikings to make some moves.

Mackensie Alexander reportedly became the second Vikings cornerback to leave for the worst team in the NFL last season.

Per media reports, Alexander has agreed to terms with the Bengals, shortly after cornerback Trae Waynes also reportedly agreed to a deal with Cincinnati.

I didn’t think Waynes was worth keeping due to the high price of his reported deal. The Bengals reportedly are to sign him for three years and $42 million, per Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network.That’s way too much money for a corner that’s only serviceable, especially when you’re the Vikings.

However, the reported deal with Alexander is a head-scratcher. Also according to Pelissero, the deal is one-year and worth $4 million. I’m sorry, what? The Vikings couldn’t do that, for a guy who is good enough to play nickel corner or out wide? That’s insane to me.

I’m not sure what the Vikings are doing with this move. How could you let Alexander walk for that little of money. The only plan I can think of is maybe the team needs to save money for cap space in order to make a huge splash in free agency, acquiring new talent to take the place of old.

Another possibility is that the Vikings weren’t thrilled with Alexander as a player, which is baffling. Pro Football Focus recently reported that Alexander was the only defensive back to play more than 500 snaps in 2019-20 and never miss a tackle.

He had one interception and five pass deflections in 2019-20. Those aren’t crazy numbers, sure, but Alexander played nickel corner and suffered an injury and still put together a year that was very similar in production to Waynes, who had one interception and eight pass deflections in a lot more playing time.

Regardless of who comes over to play for the Vikings next season, the team will still need competent, experienced players, and that’s exactly who Alexander was.

I’m not saying it’s a certainty that this will be a tough offseason. A lot can happen in free agency still and maybe there are players they really like in the draft. But Alexander reportedly leaving for a small price is hard to understand.

Report: Bengals to sign former Vikings CB Mackensie Alexander

This is the second former Vikings cornerback the Bengals have signed. Earlier this week, they signed Trae Waynes.

The Bengals’ secondary is starting to look very familiar to Vikings fans.

After signing cornerback Trae Waynes earlier in the week, the Bengals came to terms on a one-year, $4 million deal for cornerback Mackensie Alexander on Thursday, per Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network.

For how expensive Waynes was for the Bengals, this actually seems like a bargain. Waynes has been dealing with a knee injury, so that likely played a factor in the deal.

Alexander was a second-round pick out of Clemson in 2016. He appeared in 13 games last season and finished with a Pro Football Focus grade of 65.7, a mark that ranked 48th among corners in the league.

Alexander’s time in Minnesota was somewhat rocky. Maturity issues were the storyline early in his career, but it appeared he turned things around over the last two seasons.

As for the Vikings, they are now having to deal with the departure of Waynes, Alexander and Xavier Rhodes, who they bought out. They have yet to sign a cornerback in this free-agency period.

Report: Bengals agree to terms with CB Mackensie Alexander

The Bengals made another move in free agency.

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The moves in free agency just keep coming for the Cincinnati Bengals.

According to a report from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Bengals agreed to ink cornerback Mackensie Alexander to a one-year deal.

Alexander, 26, was a second-round pick in 2016 by the Minnesota Vikings and spent four seasons there appearing in 55 games. Last year the Clemson product posted a grade of 65.7 at Pro Football Focus.

This is a somewhat-predictable domino effect after the Bengals brought on Alexander’s former Minnesota teammate Trae Waynes. The coaching staff needed slot corner candidates after losing Darqueze Dennard to free agency and cutting B.W. Webb.

A one-year deal smacks of the prove-it variety for Alexander. But with more money invested in cornerback again, it again throws the future of Dre Kirkpatrick’s current cap hit into the spotlight.

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Now that Joseph and Rhodes are cut, here are three predictions for the Vikings going forward

The Vikings terminated the contracts of Linval Joseph and Xavier Rhodes. Now, they have some decisions to make. Here are three predictions for the team.

The Vikings terminated the contracts of Linval Joseph and Xavier Rhodes, freeing up cap space as free agency approaches.

That means Minnesota can somewhat be buyers, starting March 18 when free agency hits. They have just under $20 million in space in this year’s salary cap at the moment, so they’re not going to land multiple big names. However, the Vikings still have some options. Here are some things I think they will do going forward.

1. Minnesota will re-sign Everson Griffen

Photo: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Everson Griffen voided his contract with the Vikings this offseason, but that move wasn’t surprising. Griffen’s contract was a $13 million cap hit before he voided it.

Now, Minnesota could sign Griffen for less money, and they currently have adequate cap space to do so. Spotrac doesn’t have any projected market value on Griffen just yet, but I think if he wants to sign for under $10 million, the team could make it work.

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A look at Xavier Rhodes’ career earnings

The Vikings cut ties with cornerback Xavier Rhodes in a somewhat expected move on Friday afternoon.

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The Vikings cut ties with cornerback Xavier Rhodes in a somewhat expected move on Friday afternoon.

The last two seasons for Rhodes have been disappointing after an All-Pro season in 2017.

Rhodes, 29, was drafted by the Vikings with the 25th overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft out of Florida State.

Rhodes will likely get a “prove-it” deal with a team that’s mainly incentive-based.

So, how much has Rhodes made during his career so far?

Per Spotrac, that number is just shy of $50 million. Coincidentally, it’s pretty close to what Linval Joseph, who the Vikings also cut, has made.

It will be really interesting to see what the Vikings do to address the cornerback spot in free agency. Trae Waynes and Mackensie Alexander are also free agents.

Why the Vikings need to re-sign Mackensie Alexander

Of all the cornerbacks who might be on the move this offseason, the Vikings should prioritize re-signing Mackensie Alexander.

Minnesota will have to cut some players or at least restructure contracts in order to fix its salary cap problem.

But after some of those players are cut and space is freed up, who should the Vikings go after?

I think among all the cornerbacks who are possible candidates to not return next year — Xavier Rhodes, Trae Waynes and Mackensie Alexander — Alexander is a guy the Vikings should prioritize as a player to re-sign.

The Vikings save $8.1 million on Rhodes’ contract with $4.8 million of dead money, according to Over The Cap. Rhodes is coming off a year where he had zero interceptions and just six pass deflections. If he wants to stay with Minnesota, it’s likely that he will have to restructure his contract.

Trae Waynes had a better year than Rhodes, getting one pick and breaking up eight passes. If the Vikings cap situation was better, maybe you bring a player like Waynes back, but he has just not looked consistent enough to the point where I would feel confident in re-signing him.

There is one corner who I think the Vikings should keep, and that’s Alexander. Alexander put up similar stats to Rhodes and Waynes, but started just four games. He had five pass deflections and an interception.

Waynes was targeted 96 times last season and Rhodes was targeted 81 times, according to Pro Football Reference. Alexander? He was targeted just 58 times and still had about the same stats as the other two. I should note that part of the reason Alexander played less than Rhodes and Waynes is because of an injury. But another factor is that he is the nickle corner for the team, so he’s not on the field as often as Rhodes or Waynes. Considering the level of playing time given to Rhodes and Waynes, Alexander had a better season.

Also something to consider: Pro Football Focus recently reported that Alexander was the only defensive back to play more than 500 snaps in 2019-20 and never miss a tackle.

Despite not being a mainstay starter, Alexander put together a consistent season. It’d be interesting to see him as one of the starting cornerbacks as opposed to just the nickel corner. I hope the Vikings bring him back.