Kyle Rudolph was drafted by NFC North franchise Minnesota Vikings in 2011. After impressing with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, the promising tight end was wicked in the 2nd round of the Draft (43rd overall).
Since then, Rudolph has been a mainstay with the Vikings while establishing himself as a firm fan favorite over the last 10 odd years.
Rudolph made the NFL Pro Bowl team on 2 occasions in 2012 and 2017. He featured in 12 games for the Minnesota Vikings last season, with 334 receiving yards and 1 receiving touchdown on 28 receptions.
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The Mike Zimmer-coached franchise announced their decision to release Rudolph earlier this year in order to free up cap space for future additions. He ends his tenure in Minnesota with 4,488 receiving yards and 48 touchdowns.
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Kyle Rudolph parts ways with Minnesota in search of new opportunities
Ahead of his dismissal, Kyle Rudolph was on a 4-year contract worth $36 million. He signed the deal in the build-up to the 2019 NFL season. But in light of recent events, the 31-year-old tight end will enter free agency this summer.
NFL insider Ian Rapoport believes that Rudolph will be on the radar of multiple NFL teams in the coming weeks.
He said, “Kyle Rudolph, one of the linchpins of Minnesota’s offense, really one of the faces of Minnesota not just the Minnesota Vikings for the last decade was informed of his release.
“He, of course, sent a really nice letter in the Players Tribune about Minnesota, about the Vikings and what the city in the team has meant to him.
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“And this is something that teams have really known was coming in and waiting for the Vikings to release Kyle Rudolph, it saves the Vikings $5 million in cap, $8 million in cash at 31.
“Really no surprise, but he’s going to have serious interest. It’s not a deep, tight end free agent pool. I wouldn’t be surprised if Kyle Rudolph is snapped up pretty quickly,” Rapoport said earlier this week.
A possible reunion with former coach Kevin Stefanski, who is now with Cleveland Browns could be a possible option for Rudolph.
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But he is also being linked with Bill Belichick’s struggling New England Patriots franchise. A change of scenery could be the best thing to happen for Rudolph’s declining NFL career or not? Only time will tell how this story pans out. Watch this space for more.
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