Vikings Release Rudolph

[YikesVikes]

Just like that, it's done.

[YikesVikes]

I don't have anything against Kyle. I just think that his last contract was ridiculous. Paying him 9 million 2 years ago was laughable. Why make him a top 5 TE. He is talented, he is solid but he is nowhere the likes of Kelce and Gronk. Crazy contract that prevented us from resigning Richardson.

[Spot & Stalk Vike]

I don't have anything against Kyle. I just think that his last contract was ridiculous. Paying him 9 million 2 years ago was laughable. Why make him a top 5 TE. He is talented, he is solid but he is nowhere the likes of Kelce and Gronk. Crazy contract that prevented us from resigning Richardson.

This....how we got to the salary number we did with Rudy is a wonder to behold. I like Kyle, good team guy and good citizen but as much as I like the guy he's just plain over priced by double IMO.

[VikingPaul73]

Agreed 100%

I wouldn’t be surprised if he tests the FA waters, realizes he can’t get anywhere near what the Vikings paid him (especially this offseason with a reduced cap) and re-signing with the Vikings at a significantly reduced salary

I guess we will see

[YikesVikes]

Agreed 100%

I wouldn’t be surprised if he tests the FA waters, realizes he can’t get anywhere near what the Vikings paid him (especially this offseason with a reduced cap) and re-signing with the Vikings at a significantly reduced salary

I guess we will see

No way. He strikes me as a prideful guy. He will take less with a championship contender.

[S197]

Yup, I wish him the best, he was fun to watch and made some ridiculous endzone catches but his contract is simply too onerous.

[VikingPaul73]

Agreed 100%

I wouldn’t be surprised if he tests the FA waters, realizes he can’t get anywhere near what the Vikings paid him (especially this offseason with a reduced cap) and re-signing with the Vikings at a significantly reduced salary

I guess we will see

No way. He strikes me as a prideful guy. He will take less with a championship contender.

Yeah you’re probably right. But I’m sure he has family and friends now in MN so you never know

[makila]

Yup, I wish him the best, he was fun to watch and made some ridiculous endzone catches but his contract is simply too onerous.

Agreed. Wish him the best. Great representative for the organization as well.

Here is his full statement: https://www.theplayerstribune.com/posts ... otball-nfl

Some parts of it:
------
I’ll never forget my Draft Day, 10 years ago. April 29th, 2011. I was the top-rated tight end, and (as a cocky 21-year-old) was feeling pretty good about where I stood. Had a little viewing party and everything — figured I’d go in Round 1, which was a dream of mine.

Nope.

All of the teams that I’d met with, all of the teams that had an obvious need at tight end….. they passed on me. And before I knew it, the first round had ended without my name being called.

Party over, dream over. I was pretty devastated.

But then the next day, during Round 2, a strange thing happened: The Vikings, who already had three veteran TEs on their roster, and didn’t seem to have a need for me at all — they picked me at #43.

I’ll be honest: It seemed a little random at the time.

Looking back on it now, though?? I’ve come to understand something about that moment.

I got so lucky.

I got so lucky, because — I didn’t just get drafted by some team who “had a need at tight end.” 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.

Or to put it another way: how the Vikings believed in me.
------
And as I’m closing this chapter of my career, and saying my piece to Vikings Nation, I feel like the right thing to do is to think about it all from that perspective — the perspective that you guys have granted me so many times.

One of loyalty, and optimism, and gratitude, and respect.

So while I understand that a lot of the news today is going to focus on me and the team parting ways, I’d personally rather focus on the flip side of that: the fact that me and the Vikings stayed together for 10 whole seasons….. an insane run in today’s NFL. I mean, we made it to a third contract with each other. That’s rare. I got to be the longest-tenured player in literally the entire organization. (Which came with a really sweet parking spot, by the way. Just an unbelievably clutch situation during those Minnesota winters. Hate losing it, but shout-out to the next car up. Treat our spot well.)

Bottom line: I’m so proud of the decade I spent here.
-----
But in all seriousness, it’s been such an honor to play with the group of guys that I got to call teammates here. Guys like Chad Greenway, who was my go-to vet in those early years, and taught me everything I needed to know about what it takes to make it in this league — as a player and as a person. Guys like Harrison Smith, who’s been putting up with me since back when we were at Notre Dame together. (It’s so funny: First time we were ever both on the field, during a training camp session my freshman year, Harry and I got into a full-on fight with each other. Like, we for real came to blows….. just total knucklehead college stuff. What neither of us knew at the time was that we’d go on to play for the same team, 12 of our next 13 seasons, and basically become best friends.)

Guys like Hutch, Jared Allen, Adrian Peterson — the core of one of the great teams in franchise history. Guys like Matt Cassel, straight-up one of the best human beings I’ve ever been around. Guys like Ev Griffen, a nine-year teammate and an all-time friend. Guys like Eric Kendricks, an amazing competitor, who lined up against me every day in practice and helped mold me into the player I am. Guys like Sam Bradford, who never got the credit he deserved, but battled through injury for two years to try to get us over the hump. (I sincerely believe that we win a Super Bowl in 2017 if Sam is healthy. Such an incredibly talented dude, an unreal passer when his body was right.) Guys like Teddy Bridgewater, another crazy-talented quarterback who had some terrible injury luck, but inspired all of us with his determination, and definitely left his mark on this team. Man, just so many guys — I could go on and on.

And then over these last few years, as I’ve become one of the vets myself, I think about teammates like Garrett Bradbury, and Dalvin Cook, and Justin Jefferson, and Brian O’Neill: young players who are just getting started in this league — and who are going to be a part of the next great Vikings team, I’m sure of it.

What a privilege, truly….. to have gotten to line up and go to battle with these guys, wearing that purple and gold, every Sunday for a decade.
-----
And then of course I want to thank you all — I want to thank Vikings fans everywhere. I won’t go too long with it, because I like to think you know me pretty well by now, and you know what I stand for. And I’ve always been better at letting my play do the talking, anyhow. But I just want to say two main things.

One: I truly love you guys, and am so grateful for the support you’ve given me during my time here. It changed my life.

And two: I really am sorry that I couldn’t help deliver a Super Bowl. I’d give just about anything to change that….. and it pains me to be turning this page with any business left unfinished. But I think the team is in awesome hands. And when — not if, when — the Vikings finally win one, I’ll be first in line to say congratulations. Nothing in the world would make me happier. (As long as it’s not against me!!)
-----
My career is my career, and I’m really excited about whatever is around the corner. I think I have a lot of good football still to play — and the fire inside of me to win a Super Bowl is burning as strong as ever. That’s the one big goal I have left.

But it’s still just football.

Minnesota, on the other hand….. it’s so much bigger than that.

It’s where our future is. It’s where our heart is.

It’s home.

Thanks again, Vikings fans — for everything.

We’ll see you around.

–Rudy

[RandyMoss84]

Agreed 100%

I wouldn’t be surprised if he tests the FA waters, realizes he can’t get anywhere near what the Vikings paid him (especially this offseason with a reduced cap) and re-signing with the Vikings at a significantly reduced salary

I guess we will see

I do not see Rudolph coming back unless he accepts a reduced salary and a back up role

[RandyMoss84]

Yup, I wish him the best, he was fun to watch and made some ridiculous endzone catches but his contract is simply too onerous.

Agreed. Wish him the best. Great representative for the organization as well.

Here is his full statement: https://www.theplayerstribune.com/posts ... otball-nfl

Some parts of it:
------
I’ll never forget my Draft Day, 10 years ago. April 29th, 2011. I was the top-rated tight end, and (as a cocky 21-year-old) was feeling pretty good about where I stood. Had a little viewing party and everything — figured I’d go in Round 1, which was a dream of mine.

Nope.

All of the teams that I’d met with, all of the teams that had an obvious need at tight end….. they passed on me. And before I knew it, the first round had ended without my name being called.

Party over, dream over. I was pretty devastated.

But then the next day, during Round 2, a strange thing happened: The Vikings, who already had three veteran TEs on their roster, and didn’t seem to have a need for me at all — they picked me at #43.

I’ll be honest: It seemed a little random at the time.

Looking back on it now, though?? I’ve come to understand something about that moment.

I got so lucky.

I got so lucky, because — I didn’t just get drafted by some team who “had a need at tight end.” 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.

Or to put it another way: how the Vikings believed in me.
------
And as I’m closing this chapter of my career, and saying my piece to Vikings Nation, I feel like the right thing to do is to think about it all from that perspective — the perspective that you guys have granted me so many times.

One of loyalty, and optimism, and gratitude, and respect.

So while I understand that a lot of the news today is going to focus on me and the team parting ways, I’d personally rather focus on the flip side of that: the fact that me and the Vikings stayed together for 10 whole seasons….. an insane run in today’s NFL. I mean, we made it to a third contract with each other. That’s rare. I got to be the longest-tenured player in literally the entire organization. (Which came with a really sweet parking spot, by the way. Just an unbelievably clutch situation during those Minnesota winters. Hate losing it, but shout-out to the next car up. Treat our spot well.)

Bottom line: I’m so proud of the decade I spent here.
-----
But in all seriousness, it’s been such an honor to play with the group of guys that I got to call teammates here. Guys like Chad Greenway, who was my go-to vet in those early years, and taught me everything I needed to know about what it takes to make it in this league — as a player and as a person. Guys like Harrison Smith, who’s been putting up with me since back when we were at Notre Dame together. (It’s so funny: First time we were ever both on the field, during a training camp session my freshman year, Harry and I got into a full-on fight with each other. Like, we for real came to blows….. just total knucklehead college stuff. What neither of us knew at the time was that we’d go on to play for the same team, 12 of our next 13 seasons, and basically become best friends.)

Guys like Hutch, Jared Allen, Adrian Peterson — the core of one of the great teams in franchise history. Guys like Matt Cassel, straight-up one of the best human beings I’ve ever been around. Guys like Ev Griffen, a nine-year teammate and an all-time friend. Guys like Eric Kendricks, an amazing competitor, who lined up against me every day in practice and helped mold me into the player I am. Guys like Sam Bradford, who never got the credit he deserved, but battled through injury for two years to try to get us over the hump. (I sincerely believe that we win a Super Bowl in 2017 if Sam is healthy. Such an incredibly talented dude, an unreal passer when his body was right.) Guys like Teddy Bridgewater, another crazy-talented quarterback who had some terrible injury luck, but inspired all of us with his determination, and definitely left his mark on this team. Man, just so many guys — I could go on and on.

And then over these last few years, as I’ve become one of the vets myself, I think about teammates like Garrett Bradbury, and Dalvin Cook, and Justin Jefferson, and Brian O’Neill: young players who are just getting started in this league — and who are going to be a part of the next great Vikings team, I’m sure of it.

What a privilege, truly….. to have gotten to line up and go to battle with these guys, wearing that purple and gold, every Sunday for a decade.
-----
And then of course I want to thank you all — I want to thank Vikings fans everywhere. I won’t go too long with it, because I like to think you know me pretty well by now, and you know what I stand for. And I’ve always been better at letting my play do the talking, anyhow. But I just want to say two main things.

One: I truly love you guys, and am so grateful for the support you’ve given me during my time here. It changed my life.

And two: I really am sorry that I couldn’t help deliver a Super Bowl. I’d give just about anything to change that….. and it pains me to be turning this page with any business left unfinished. But I think the team is in awesome hands. And when — not if, when — the Vikings finally win one, I’ll be first in line to say congratulations. Nothing in the world would make me happier. (As long as it’s not against me!!)
-----
My career is my career, and I’m really excited about whatever is around the corner. I think I have a lot of good football still to play — and the fire inside of me to win a Super Bowl is burning as strong as ever. That’s the one big goal I have left.

But it’s still just football.

Minnesota, on the other hand….. it’s so much bigger than that.

It’s where our future is. It’s where our heart is.

It’s home.

Thanks again, Vikings fans — for everything.

We’ll see you around.

–Rudy

Thank you for posting, that is a very nice statement and he has always been a class act, I hope he will win a ring unless it is with the Packers

[Raz]

A class act. Wish Kirk could have got him the ball a little more. Wish him luck.

[J. Kapp 11]

So now the question becomes this ...

Will the Vikings invest more in a third tight end or a third receiver?

The answer will tell us a lot about the direction Klint Kubiak takes this offense.

[RandyMoss84]

So now the question becomes this ...

Will the Vikings invest more in a third tight end or a third receiver?

The answer will tell us a lot about the direction Klint Kubiak takes this offense.

I sure hope a 3rd receiver since 3rd receiver is nothing special right now

[RandyMoss84]

Any chance Rudolph will go into the Vikings Ring of Honor?

[chicagopurple]

I expect, and kinda hope, Rudolph gets picked up by a competitive team that has areal chance of a championship. He isnt in his prime but he is a go to guy in the red zone.....just the kinda receiver Brady loves.....I would not be surprised if Brady makes Rudolph a SuperBowl hero...... But, I still think he needed to go....we dont have the cash to keep him and we dont have a team to make his last years special for him.....we are rebuilding and will need young talent to grow and develop......again.....and again......