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Vikings Release TE Kyle Rudolph


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2 hours ago, Hunter2_1 said:

Looks like he's really slow

He’s a big body possession type receiver and struggles to separate in the middle of the field. But Rudolph is still a weapon in the red zone and could easily score 6-8 TDs per year in the right situation. He’s prone to making spectacular catches in the back of the end zone. But that’s about it. 

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30 minutes ago, vikingsrule said:

He’s a big body possession type receiver and struggles to separate in the middle of the field. But Rudolph is still a weapon in the red zone and could easily score 6-8 TDs per year in the right situation. He’s prone to making spectacular catches in the back of the end zone. But that’s about it. 

With a depressed FA market, I could see him coming home to play here (he's a local kid)

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34 minutes ago, vegas492 said:

Packers found a role for an old, slow, blocking TE.  If Lewis retires, Rudolph could fill that role pretty easily.

Rudolph isn’t a blocking TE. In fact, he’s been pretty bad at it most of his career. He seemed to take on more of a blocking role with Irv Smith being more dynamic as the better receiving option and wasn’t thrilled about it. I don’t think Rudolph wants to block, or at least as much as he did last year, with his new team. 

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11 hours ago, Ty21 said:

As a lifelong Irish fan and lifelong advocate of wanting tight ends to have ridiculous stats (love u Kelce, Kittle, + Gronk), I’ve never been anything but disappointed in Rudolph’s output (outside of that random okay 800 yard season). ND is TE U but so many ND TE’s end up being nothing more than serviceable. 

Have you seen our QBs? Besides Cousins he's had nothing. 

Teddy might have worked out but never developed after that knee injury. Ponder sucked, Keenum had a lucky horseshoe, Bradford didn't know what a pass beyond 8 yards from the LOS was and the other bums stunk.

Put Rudolph with Brady or Brees and he has a much better career.

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A great guy and still a good player. Quite slow, but still has the veteran awareness and hands to help out in the red zone. There are plenty of teams that could benefit from that.

Minnesota spoiled me, as far as having tight ends who could catch. Then I watched Evan Engram try to be an NFL starter. The horror. 😱

Edited by y*so*blu
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Wonder what the going price for him would be? I guess you have to see what Chargers and Titans do on whether Henry and Smith are tagged or not. If tagged then Rudolph will be really the best TE on the market unless someone else gets cut. Other guys that may be released or traded are Njoku, Ertz, and Howard. Really the market isn't deep with Te but those 6 can improve a team that doesnt have an elite te. I assume Smith and Henry seek a Hooper like contract while Rudolph seeks a Jared Cook like contract (2 years 15 mil)?

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1 minute ago, soflbillsfan said:

Wonder what the going price for him would be? I guess you have to see what Chargers and Titans do on whether Henry and Smith are tagged or not. If tagged then Rudolph will be really the best TE on the market unless someone else gets cut. Other guys that may be released or traded are Njoku, Ertz, and Howard. Really the market isn't deep with Te but those 6 can improve a team that doesnt have an elite te. I assume Smith and Henry seek a Hooper like contract while Rudolph seeks a Jared Cook like contract (2 years 15 mil)?

If there are cap restraints, I could see players like Rudolph getting squeezed. It came out that Rudolph was a bit unsatisfied with pay relative to role, I think he’s in for a rude awakening if he thinks he’s getting more than what Mn paid him last year.

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15 minutes ago, vikingsrule said:

If there are cap restraints, I could see players like Rudolph getting squeezed. It came out that Rudolph was a bit unsatisfied with pay relative to role, I think he’s in for a rude awakening if he thinks he’s getting more than what Mn paid him last year.

I think he was more frustrated in the fact he was getting paid a good amount of money and had little production as he was forced to block more then be a receiver in which that is what he was good for originally. 37 targets in 2020 and 48 targets in 2019 compared to previous years in which he was receiving double if not triple those targets. I think when kubiak came in that is when his production fell because you all went to a run first team. So I could see him getting frustrated that he isnt being utilized the way he was hoping. 

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6 minutes ago, soflbillsfan said:

I think he was more frustrated in the fact he was getting paid a good amount of money and had little production as he was forced to block more then be a receiver in which that is what he was good for originally. 37 targets in 2020 and 48 targets in 2019 compared to previous years in which he was receiving double if not triple those targets. I think when kubiak came in that is when his production fell because you all went to a run first team. So I could see him getting frustrated that he isnt being utilized the way he was hoping. 

I don’t think he wants to be a blocker. And while Mn did run a lot, they had a ton of production out of Thielen and Jefferson and Irv Smith seemed to be the preferred TE target. I get Rudolph’s frustration with role, but I don’t think anyone is going to hand over money comparable to his own self worth, if he views himself as a #1 receiving target from the TE position. Problem is, he’s not. He’s nice on check downs and is a beast in the red zone but you need a starting TE who can do more.

If Rudolph is paid much less to reflect a lesser role, is he okay being a blocking TE who contributes mostly in the red zone?

Edited by vikingsrule
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7 minutes ago, vikingsrule said:

I don’t think he wants to be a blocker. And while Mn did run a lot, they had a ton of production out of Thielen and Jefferson and Irv Smith seemed to be the preferred TE target. I get Rudolph’s frustration with role, but I don’t think anyone is going to hand over money comparable to his own self worth, if he views himself as a #1 receiving target from the TE position. Problem is, he’s not. He’s nice on check downs and is a beast in the red zone but you need a starting TE who can do more.

If Rudolph is paid much less to reflect a lesser role, is he okay being a blocking TE who contributes mostly in the red zone?

Not really sure what he would do. You have to assume his agent is going to lower his expectations if he thinks he is going to be a top piece. He cant hold out for that as the time gets closer to draft he would have less and less attention as he will likely get right away. Not sure how he and Diggs got a long but if they have a relationship I would be up for bringing him in to Buffalo to be the split te with Knox if Smith/Henry arent an option for them. There will be teams out there just not sure if they would over pay for his services. You would think he would get more money if Smith and Henry do get tagged as desperate teams will look to throw money at him to ensure they have a capable catching te. If both smith and henry hit fa he needs to realize he isnt going to get more money with them being available. So you have to think he is hoping those 2 get tagged.

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