Kyle Rudolph, the tight end veteran acquired by the Giants during his active and costly free agency spending, requires foot surgery, but is expected to be ready to play in the early 2021 season.
While playing for the Vikings last season, 31-year-old Rudolph injured his foot in a Dec. 6 game against the Jaguars. He missed the last four games, went free and, after 10 years with the Vikings, agreed to pacts with the Giants in a two-year deal worth $ 12 million. Four months after he initially injured his foot, he has yet to be completely healed, which caused a brief problem in signing the contract, according to NFL Network. The problem has been resolved, confirmed The Post and Rudolph signed the agreement, with no financial adjustment on the part of the team.
“That’s 100 percent of what happened during the season that caused me to miss the last four games of the season,” Rudolph said Wednesday after signing his contract. “Everyone was waiting for him to heal on his own, but he didn’t. It needs to be fixed. I’m very grateful to the Giants’ medical staff … and I’m happy to fix it and move on.
“I do not expect to lose any football. I’m very excited when we start playing football to be out there with my teammates. “
Rudolph will count $ 4.75 million in this year’s salary cap. He receives a $ 4.5 million signing bonus.
In 140 games (132 starts) for the Vikings, Rudolph had 453 receptions for 4,488 yards and 48 touchdowns. His 28 recipes in 12 games last season was his lowest production since 2014, when he only played in nine games. Rudolph is a strong online blocker and the Giants expect him to be a red zone threat, allowing Evan Engram to reduce some of his online blocking responsibilities to allow him to use his speed outside to create situations of mismatch.