Have We Seen the Last of Kyle Rudolph in Minnesota?

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Kyle Rudolph has not played since week 13 because of a foot injury and will not play in the season finale Sunday against the Detroit Lions. He has been with the Minnesota Vikings since being drafted in the second round (43rd overall) out of Notre Dame in 2011.

He has done many good things for this team both on and off the field.

After 10 seasons with the organization, will they move on from one of the best tight ends in team history?

They very well could. As tough as it would be to say goodbye, it certainly makes a lot of sense. He will turn 32 next season and they already have two good tight ends in Irv Smith Jr. and Tyler Conklin. After Smith was drafted in 2019, many expected Rudolph to be gone very shortly. It did not happen. He has remained with the team since. His role with the team has gone down the past two seasons however and was used more for blocking. He had 39 receptions last season in all 16 games and only 28 this season in 12 games.

From a salary cap standpoint it also makes plenty of sense to move on.

According to spotrac, the Vikings will be $10.92 million over the salary cap if it drops to $175 million. Rudolph is due $9.45 million next season with a dead cap of $4.35 million.

If they did not have two good tight ends already, it would have made sense to restructure him, but that is not the case. Even if they only had one, they could have drafted one to replace him.

Rudolph is under contract the following two years as well:

2022: $10.25 million ($2.9 million dead cap)

2023: $11.65 million (1.45 million dead cap)

Even if the Vikings decide to bring Rudolph back in 2021, it will be a very huge surprise if he would be back after that, regardless of what his cap number would look like or not.

In 140 games (132 starts), he has caught 453 passes for 4,488 yards and 48 touchdowns for the Vikings. He has been named to the Pro Bowl twice, including being named the game MVP in 2012. He has appeared in all 16 games six times, including five straight from 2015-2019. He caught a career-high 83 passes in 2016 and a career-high nine touchdowns in 2012.

His biggest moment however came in the playoffs last season when he caught the game-winning touchdown pass in overtime against the New Orleans Saints. In addition to his play, Rudolph has been an outstanding citizen. He not only has always been well-respected by the whole organization, but also by the fans for his positive attitude both on and off the field. Since his arrival in Minnesota he has been very active in helping the community.

Those one-handed catches have been fun to watch too.

It will be tough to see him go, but 10 years in one place is still very good and it is a business. He will always be considered as a prominent member of this franchise’s history and will one day be inducted in the team’s Ring of Honor.

Nothing in life lasts forever. It has been a very good run for #82 in purple.

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