Vikings left tackle Matt Kalil made a strong first impression in the NFL when he made the Pro Bowl as a rookie in 2012, but his play hasn’t been up to the same level over the last two years.
Part of the problem may have been injuries as Kalil had arthroscopic surgery on both knees this offseason and Kalil’s ability to play through the issues last second earned him compliments from head coach Mike Zimmer. The team backed up Zimmer’s words by picking up the fifth-year option on Kalil’s contract, but that support comes with a reminder that Kalil needs to be better in his fourth season.
“I’m assuming that he’s going to play really good this year, and I told him that after we picked up the option,” Zimmer said, via the Pioneer Press. “Personality-wise, he understands that he needs to play better. But there was never a time that he let any of his teammates down by not coming out and showing (up), and I think he missed two practices the whole year.”
The option is guaranteed for injury only, so the Vikings can back out of the option if Kalil doesn’t live up to Zimmer’s expectations in 2015. They gave themselves an option in the event they go that route when they drafted T.J. Cummings, who slipped to the fourth round amid concerns about a stress fracture in his foot, but the best case for the team would be Kalil returning to the form that made him the fourth overall pick in 2012.