Kyle Rudolph Unwillingness to Restructure Is Understandable
Dustin Baker
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With the looming reality of a condensed 2021 salary cap, the Minnesota Vikings – like many teams – are in a nervewracking spot. Recent history has spurred a tradition of the Vikings bumping right up against the salary cap like a teenage parallel-parker. Annually, Minnesotan brass approaches longtime veteran players to restructure contracts in hopes of filling out a 53-man roster.
Sans a Super Bowl visit or championship, the strategy is effective despite the “here we go again” vibes that linger. Since the start of 2015, the Vikings are the NFL’s seventh-best franchise via win percentage (.599). They win 60% of all football games, a mark that places them ahead of the Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles, and Tennessee Titans (to name a few) in the same timeframe.
Ergo, the efficacy of the penny-pinching methodology is not in question. But it does invoke a yearly cycle. Players with allegedly bloated contracts are nudged to rework deals. It usually works. Many times, it is even the franchise’s most illustrious names that oblige. Kirk Cousins and Danielle Hunter agreed last offseason. As the regular season neared, Riley Reiff took the plunge, too.
The time has come, yet again. The Vikings are upside for 2021 cap prognosis – before the NFL announces any coronavirus-related cap tweaks. That’s when the “usual suspects” are examined for restructuring opportunities.
Kyle Rudolph is at the very top of that list in 2021 – for better or worse. He is the league’s sixth-highest paid tight end per average annual salary. His involvement in the Vikings offense does not warrant the price tag, at least according to how the 2020 season unfolded.
Yet, Rudolph should be miffed by restructure talks, and here’s why.
The Ask Is Not Performance-Related
Confronting Kyle Rudolph with take-less-money fodder is not rooted in his lack of aptitude. For 10 years, Rudolph has ossified a bedrock of consistency, one riddled with clutch performance. Whether it’s a redzone touchdown grab, a one-handed reception for the highlight reels, or an uncanny knack for avoiding turnovers, the 31-year-old is Captain Reliability. Ask yourself – when was the last stretch of games you thought, “We need to be done with this Kyle Rudolph character.”
You never ponder that because the sentiment is asinine. Rudolph, at a time, was the centerpiece of the Vikings offense – if that can be believed. In 2016 when Teddy Bridgewater was lost for the season and the team panic-traded for Sam Bradford, Rudolph was a Travis Kelce-like figure in Minnesota’s gameplan. That’s right – he was targeted 132 times by Bradford and Shaun Hill. For comparison, rookie wideout Justin Jefferson was targeted 125 times in 2020.
Rudolph’s incoming solicitation for a restructure is a business-only proposal. He has shown zero signs of physical drop-off.
Irv Smith Jr. Drafted for a Reason
When the Vikings selected Irv Smith Jr. with a 2nd-round pick in 2019, it was the beginning of the transition – undeniably. Unless the team planned to flank a duo like Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez on opposite sides of the field, Smith Jr.’s addition to the roster was a futures move. And the Gronkowski-Hernandez idea was never tangible as Kirk Cousins already had to “worry about” getting Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs enough attention on Sundays. Can’t have one of those men flipping out and skipping practice(s).
Smith Jr. is emphatically not an underneath, dirty-work guy like Jim Kleinsasser was for 12 years. In fact, a juxtaposition of Smith Jr. and Kleinsasser’s styles is quite comical to contemplate. Smith Jr. is a bold, pass-catching playmaker – who just needs targets to do bold, pass-catching things.
The prudent way to involve Smith Jr. is to wipe away from the roster other tight ends that need attention. It’s just bittersweet that it probably involves the exodus or restructure of Rudolph.
It’s the Penny-Pinching
When Rudolph’s contract is addressed in the coming weeks or months, the matter will be about money and money-only. Think Linval Joseph at this time last year. Joseph battled injury in 2019 and then entered the 2020 offseason with a fat contract number. Sound familiar? That’s where the Vikings are at with Rudolph.
Joseph packed his bags for Los Angeles. The move worked swimmingly for the Chargers and Joseph. He was not otherworldly, but his Pro Football Focus scored graded at 68.7 – a respectable figure. That’s what Rudolph has to look forward to if not retained by the Vikings. He will get a fresh start elsewhere, maybe even in a warm climate like Joseph.
If he’s lucky, he can go the way of Bryant McKinnie in Baltimore nine years ago and snag a Super Bowl ring.