Xavier Rhodes challenges Telvin Smith to race at Jaguars/Vikings joint practices

Hat tip to The Viking Age for finding this one first.

There is, perhaps, no team in the NFL that talks more “smack” than the Jacksonville Jaguars, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. I mean, obviously they have reason to, given that they’re really, really good.

However, following the announcement of the joint practice between the Jaguars and the Minnesota Vikings leading up to their preseason contest this August, Vikings’ cornerback Xavier Rhodes has turned the tables a bit and talked a little trash of his own.

Rhodes has formally. . .apparently. . .challenged Jaguars’ linebacker Telvin Smith to a race when the teams get together in Minneapolis. Now, it’s not as if Rhodes picked Smith out of the blue or anything. The two of them were teammates at Florida State from 2010 to 2012. Rhodes was taken by the Vikings in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft, and Smith was taken by the Jaguars in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL Draft.

According to the numbers that the folks at The Viking Age have, Smith ran his 40-yard dash at the Combine in 4.52 seconds. Now, that’s pretty fast. . .but not as fast as the 4.43 that Rhodes put up at his Combine.

I’m not sure if this race is actually going to go down or not, but if it is, hopefully it will be brought to us through the magic of social media so we can see who comes out on top. And, for the record, put my totally not biased money on Rhodes.