MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota Vikings Kyle Rudolph’s tight ending knows its worth, and he won’t be granting discounts ahead of his 11th season in the NFL.
In an appearance on the podcast “ Unrestricted with Ben Leber, ” Rudolph expressed his displeasure with his role in the Vikings’ onslaught over the past two seasons, having become Minnesota’s second or third leading recipient from 2015 to 2018 and an afterthought was in the passing game in 2020.
Minnesota is expected to be $ 12.8 million over the cap ahead of the new league year and would gain $ 5.1 million in cap space if it released Rudolph off-season (which comes with $ 4.35 million in dead money) . The Vikings could also restructure Rudolph’s current deal, with three years to go, to lower his 2021 limit from $ 9.45 million to nearly half.
It wouldn’t be the first time the Vikings have approached the two-time Pro Bowl end with a restructuring proposal. In June 2019, Rudolph reworked his contract for a four-year extension, two months after Minnesota chose a second round to replace a tight Irv Smith Jr. from Alabama. Last season, Smith finished third on the Vikings in receiving and touchdowns (365 yards, five TDs).
Rudolph said he isn’t sure how the Minnesota front office will approach his situation before free agency, but he stuck to his belief that he should get the full amount of what his contract entails.
‘Clearly I am realistic. I see both sides, ”Rudolph said. “If I were [team owners] the Wilfs, if I was [general manager] Rick [Spielman], I look at this situation like, “Hey, we’re paying this guy a lot of money and you’re not using him, so why do we keep paying him a lot of money?”
That said, I think I’m worth every dime on my contract. That doesn’t mean I’m used to my potential and that I’m used to doing what I do well, so it will be interesting over the coming months. Like I said, I have three more years on my contract. I don’t want to go anywhere else. I’ve somehow become a pretty decent blocker because I’m forced to. It certainly wasn’t something I ever got it right done at any point in my career. Maybe in high school because I was taller than everyone else, but even then I just wanted to run around and catch balls. “
“At the beginning of last season, the writing was on the wall,” Rudolph continued. “I saw where our attack was going. I had seven or eight catches in the first six games. It was just absurd. I literally blocked all the time.”
Rudolph caught 28 passes on 35 goals in 2020, his lowest output since the 2014 season. He churned 334 receiving yards and one touchdown, the last of which was a career low for the former second round.
Rudolph was asked to pass on 43 snaps last season, fewer than the 68 pass-blocking snaps he played in 2019. The veteran-tight ending revealed on the podcast the reason for his injured end-of-season reserve designation that forced him to miss weeks 13 to 17: a Lisfranc sprain in his foot.
When asked what he would do if the Vikings came to him with a restructuring proposal that would keep him in the same role he played in the attack, Rudolph made it clear that he would not agree to a reduced salary for 2021. He is planned to make a base. salary of $ 7.65 million next season.
“It wouldn’t happen,” he said. “You only get to play this game for so many years, and I feel like I have a lot of good football left. Now we’re moving fast, I’ve played these three years on my contract and I’m 33, 34 now and they say : ‘Hey, we want to keep you at a much lower number for a few years, but we want you X, Y and Z to help these young guys’ – sign me up.
“But like I said, at the age of 31, with how I feel physically, with knowing what else I can do … It’s just a lack of opportunities. In the past, I was the one who got red zone goals. I can’t sign up for that again. “