MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota Vikings player Kyle Rudolph knows his worth and will not grant any discounts until his eleventh season in the NFL.
In an appearance on the podcast “Unrestricted with Ben Leber,” Rudolph expressed his displeasure at his role in the Vikings’ offense over the past two seasons, having gone from Minnesota’s second or third receiver from 2015 to 2018 to be a thinking later the passing game in 2020.
Minnesota is expected to exceed the $ 12.8 million limit before the new league year and would earn $ 5.1 million on the limit if they released Rudolph this offseason (which carries $ 4.35 million dead). The Vikings could also restructure Rudolph’s current deal, with three years to go, to reduce its 2021 limit from $ 9.45 million to nearly half.
It would not be the first time the Vikings have approached the double end of the Pro Bowl with a restructuring proposal. In June 2019, Rudolph reworked his contract in a four-year extension two months after Minnesota used a second-round pick to draft the closed Irv Smith Jr. out of Alabama. Last season, Smith finished third to the Vikings in reception and touchdowns (365 yards, five TDs).
Rudolph said he is not sure how his office will deal with his situation before Minnesota before the free agency, but he stood firm with his belief that he would be paid the full amount of his contract.
“Viously, obviously I’m realistic. I see both sides,” Rudolph said. “If I was [team owners] the Wilfs, if I were [general manager] Rick [Spielman]I look at this situation like, “Hey, we pay a lot of money to this guy and don’t use him, why do we keep paying him a lot of money?”
“That said, I think it’s worth all the money on my contract. That doesn’t mean I’m used to my potential and used to doing what I do well, so it’ll be interesting in the coming months. Like I said, “I have three years left on my contract. I don’t want to go anywhere. Somehow I’ve become a pretty decent blocker because I’ve been forced to do it. It was definitely not something I ever did.” well at any point in my career. Maybe in high school because I was older than everyone else, but even then I just wanted to run and catch balls. “
“Early last season, the writing was on the wall,” Rudolph continued. “I saw where our offense was going. I had seven or eight catches in the first six games. It was absurd. I was literally blocking all the time.”
Rudolph took 28 passes to 35 goals in 2020, his lowest production since the 2014 season. He hit 334 receiving yards and one touchdown, the last of which was a low run for the former national team. second round.
Last season Rudolph was asked to approve 43 instant actions, compared to the 68 blocking actions he played in 2019. The final veteran revealed on the podcast the reason for his injured reserve designation at the end of the season. season that forced him to miss weeks 13 at 5pm: a Lisfranc sprain in his foot.
Asked what he would do if the Vikings came to him with a restructuring proposal that would keep him in the same role he played in the offensive, Rudolph made it clear that he would not agree to a reduced salary for 2021. He is scheduled to make a base salary of $ 7.65 million next season.
“It wouldn’t happen,” he said. “You can only play this game for so many years and I feel like I have very good football left. Now we’re moving fast, I’ve played these three years with my contract and now I’m 33, 34 and they say, ‘Hey, we want to keep you here for a couple of years in a much lower number, but we want you to do X, Y and Z help these young guys ”: sign me up.
“But, as I said, at 31, with how I feel physically, with knowing what I can still do … It’s just a lack of opportunities. In the past, I was the one who achieved red zone goals. I can’t sign for it again “.