The Vikings last week exercised tackle Matt Kalil’s fifth-year contract option. Now, it’s up to Kalil to show it was a good move.

“I’m assuming that he’s going to play really good this year, and I told him that after we picked up the option,” Minnesota coach Mike Zimmer said Wednesday.

Kalil, whose fifth-year option for $11.096 million is guaranteed only for injury, struggled in 2014, two years after making the Pro Bowl as a rookie in 2012. It has become apparent recently that his knee problems perhaps played more of a role in his drop-off than originally believed.

Kalil last January had arthroscopic surgery on both knees, but Zimmer said he’s now feeling much better. There were times last season when Kalil really was hurting.

“There was one week that I didn’t know if he would make it,” Zimmer said of Kalil, who hasn’t missed a game in his first three seasons. “He has never missed anything. He always shows up. He tries to fight as hard as he can for the guys.

“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.”

via Chris Tomasson of TwinCities.com