Report: Xavier Rhodes expected to start against Saints

UPDATE: Ian Rapoport’s report was incorrect, as the Vikings have made Rhodes inactive for tonight’s game. Original story follows.

Going into their Sunday Night Football matchup against the New Orleans Saints, the Minnesota Vikings are going to be missing some pretty significant parts of their team. However, it appears that they might have the services of a player that most. . .myself included. . .thought they might not have available.

Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network is reporting that Vikings’ cornerback Xavier Rhodes is expected to play on Sunday night. If that’s the case, it’s almost certain that he would return to his role as one of the starting cornerbacks in the Vikings’ defense.

Rhodes suffered an ankle injury late in Week 7’s victory over the New York Jets when he got tangled up with Jets’ receiver Robby Anderson on a deep route. He had to be helped off of the field, but returned to the sideline later on to watch the remainder of the game.

Rhodes did not practice all week with the ankle injury, and reportedly still had a limp when reporters were able to watch the open portion of Friday’s practice. While he was listed as “questionable,” the sentiment seemed to be that he was not going to be able to suit up for tonight’s game, but it appears as though he will.

We’ll know this for sure when we get the inactive lists approximately 90 minutes before tonight’s kickoff, and we will have those here for you as soon as we get them.