EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Back in his home state and living with his former college roommate, Michael Floyd said his chance to play with the Minnesota Vikings might be the last, best opportunity he gets to right his NFL career.
Floyd, whose DUI arrest triggered his release from the Arizona Cardinals last December, signed a one-year, $1.41 million deal with the Vikings on May 10. It gave the St. Paul native a chance to reboot his career, with the specter of NFL discipline still looming, and it put Floyd back in Minnesota where he figured he wouldn't play again.
"Them taking a chance on me, that was the last straw," he said. "You want to accomplish all your goals, you've got to have your head on straight. They know that. That's what I'm doing right now. I'm focused on helping this club win ballgames, and learning.
"I couldn't be in a better position right now, being home with family and friends and having teammates that I can lean on for anything."
The receiver is living with Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph, with whom Floyd roomed for three years in college.
"I just texted him and told him I'm sleeping downstairs," Floyd said. "There's no, 'No.' We've known each other too long to say no. Even if it was the other way, and he had to spend a night sometime, he would come over to my house."
Floyd, who was arrested in Scottsdale, Arizona, last December, said he has never watched the video of his arrest released by the Scottsdale Police Department, which showed him asleep at the wheel. He had a blood-alcohol level of .217 when he was arrested, and was sentenced on Feb. 17 to 24 days in jail and 96 under house arrest.
The remainder of Floyd's house arrest sentence was transferred from Arizona to Minnesota last week, and Floyd was able to start practicing with the Vikings on Tuesday.
"We started that process where myself and Coach Zimmer spent numerous hours with him, numerous visits," general manager Rick Spielman said. "I know our support system has also spent a lot of time with him. We are very excited that the legal process let him come to Minnesota."
Said Floyd: "I'm a person who's always wanted to get away. That's why I chose the University of Notre Dame, to get away, to see different environments, different people. A lot of Minnesota people, they kind of stick together, so I wanted to meet new people in my life. It's funny how things turn out, that I'm right back at home."
The receiver said he understands he could still be subject to NFL discipline stemming from last December's arrest.
"I think when anyone gets in trouble, there's punishment that has to be handed [out]," he said. "I don't know what [it is] yet, but I'll soon find out."