New Viking Goes Very Bold with Self-Stated Goal for 2025
Last season, the Vikings led the NFL with 24 interceptions. Seeing Isaiah Rodgers live up to just his personal goal will mean that the number gets bested with quite a bit of ease.
The new Viking chatted with the media a few days ago. Not lacking in confidence, the speedy corner indicated that he’s looking to pile up a whopping 15 interceptions for the Vikings’ defense in 2025: “I’ve put 15 in my notes just in case. If I fail and go short for it, I still probably get 10.” Quite possibly, Rodgers is being a bit hyperbolic, but the point still shines through: the corner has some lofty expectations.
New Viking Isaiah Rodgers Isn’t Shy
Step into NFL history. Only once has a player ever had 14 interceptions in a single season. Night Train Lane did so in 1952, climbing up to the statistical milestone in just a dozen games and in his rookie season, no less.
So, Mr. Rodgers isn’t lacking in ambition. The NFL has never had a player soar so high.
Bring the discussion around to a more local focus. All-time Vikings great Paul Krause had 12 interceptions for Washington in 1964, the highest of his career. As a Viking, Krause topped out at 10 interceptions, something he did in the 1975 season. Last year, the team’s leader in interceptions was Byron Murphy Jr., someone who picked up 6 in his Pro Bowl season.
The funny thing is that Isaiah Rodgers thinks that Murphy left some production on the field.
“Lot of plays on the ball, lot of interceptions,” Rodgers previously said of Murphy, “he dropped a lot, though.” The new corner then says that Murphy should have had “at least 10” interceptions while explaining that he has a strong relationship with his Minnesota teammate.
Keep in mind, as well, that Isaiah Rodgers has also made his opinion known about how Brian Flores should proceed on defense.
More specifically, the new Viking thinks that blitzes aplenty will make pass coverage easier: “With the team we have, I’m all for it, so blitz all day, it saves time me having to cover. I trust this team, I trust his strategy and everything he has going into game plans.”
In March, Isaiah Rodgers was brought to town on a two-year deal that’s a touch beyond $11 million across the pair of seasons. Seeing him even get to half of the goal — 7 or 8 interceptions — will mean that he has smashed expectations.
The corner has been in the NFL since 2020, playing in 60 games while starting 13. He has 3 interceptions in his career. All of his INTs arrived in the 2021 season.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
