The Minnesota Vikings have released veteran tight end Kyle Rudolph after 10 seasons, the group reported on Tuesday.
The move saves Minnesota $5.1 million against the compensation cap for 2021. Rudolph, 31, will turn into a free specialist without precedent for his NFL vocation.
The previous second-round draft pick of the Vikings in 2011 gave an ardent farewell in a story distributed by The Players’ Tribune considering his 10 seasons in Minnesota.
“I got so lucky, because — I didn’t just get drafted by some team who ‘had a need at tight end,’ Rudolph wrote. “I didn’t just get drafted as, like, the nameless, faceless ‘#1 tight end on the board.’ I got drafted by a team that was all set in terms of need … but then drafted me anyway.
“I’ll always remember that: how the Minnesota Vikings wanted me — and wanted to bet on my potential.”
Vikings general manager Rick Spielman said something regarding Rudolph’s delivery in an articulation, calling him “one of the premier tight ends in the NFL and most influential and positive leaders I’ve ever been around.”
“Kyle and [his wife] Jordan have made such an immeasurable impact on our team and community that may never be matched,” Spielman said. “The energy they have invested in the community, most notably through the End Zone at the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital, is truly remarkable. I admire Kyle and we will miss him and his family. We sincerely wish them the best.”
Rudolph had three years staying on the agreement he endorsed in June 2019 after the Vikings moved toward him to rebuild his arrangement through an expansion. He was at risk for being a cap setback this offseason with a $9.45 million cap hit and a job that has diminished extensively in the Vikings’ offense in the course of the last two seasons.
Rudolph talked before this offseason about his longing for a greater part in Minnesota’s offense or somewhere else and said he would not be available to a rebuild if the group moved toward him about accepting a decrease in salary.
“I think I’m worth every dime of my contract,” Rudolph said on the podcast “Unrestricted with Ben Leber” in January. “That doesn’t mean that I’m used to my potential and I’m used to do what I do well, so it will be interesting over the next few months. Like I said, I have three years left on my contract. I don’t want to go anywhere else. I’ve somehow become a pretty decent blocker because I’ve been forced to. It certainly wasn’t something that I ever did well at any point of my career. Maybe in high school because I was bigger than everyone else, but even then, I just wanted to run around and catch balls.”
Rudolph got 28 passes on 35 targets in 2020, his least yield since the 2014 season. He stirred up 334 getting yards and one score, the last of which was a lifelong low for the previous second-rounder.
At 31, Rudolph said he believes he has “a great deal of good football left” and will get an opportunity to play for his second NFL group.
Rudolph’s effect off the field was all around recorded all through his time in Minnesota. The tight end’s work with the Masonic Children’s Hospital prompted him being the Vikings’ Walter Payton Man of the Year candidate three straight occasions from 2017-19.
Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins called Rudolph “the smartest player I’ll ever play with” in a tweet that gave proper respect to his previous colleague, who likewise drew acclaim from mentor Mike Zimmer.
“Kyle has been a leader and mentor for us on and off the field from the first day I arrived in Minnesota,” Zimmer said. “He has been such an important part of this team and community throughout his career and it has been an honor to coach him the last seven seasons. He will be missed, and we wish him and his family nothing but the best.”