Report: Vikings, Kyle Rudolph cut off extension talks
Oh Oh... :sThe Vikings said that drafting tight end Irv Smith Jr. in the second round of last month’s draft was not a sign that they were pushing Kyle Rudolph off the roster, but a parting of the ways may be in the cards.
Rudolph is in the final year of his contract and he had been talking to the Vikings about an extension that would extend that stay. An extension would likely lessen Rudolph’s $7.625 million cap hit for the 2019 season as well, but Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that talks about a new deal broke off on Friday.
The need to clear cap space was related to reports that the Vikings were fielding calls about trading Rudolph and other veteran members of the team, but General Manager Rick Spielman downplayed the seriousness of those discussions.
Friday’s development will likely lead to another round of calls to Spielman from teams interested in Rudolph and it could lead to a different answer from the Vikings.
https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2019/05/10/report-vikings-kyle-rudolph-cut-off-extension-talks/
Report: Vikings, TE Rudolph Contract Extension Talks Break Off; Trade Could Be Looming
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Minnesota Vikings veteran tight end Kyle Rudolph’s future with the team is in doubt.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the team held active extension talks with Rudolph, but those broke off Friday morning.
Rapoport says this means a trade could be looming, since there’s interest around the NFL.
JMO, but I think the Vikings are pretty ok with Tyler Conklin in Rudolph's role this year, Morgan is one of the best blocking TEs in the NFL (and underrated catching) and then 2nd round pick Irv Smith Jr. and whatever he might bring his rookie year. They won't be missing much without Rudolph, IMO.
Minnesota needs that cap room.
@"StickyBun" said: JMO, but I think the Vikings are pretty ok with Tyler Conklin in Rudolph's role this year, Morgan is one of the best blocking TEs in the NFL (and underrated catching) and then 2nd round pick Irv Smith Jr. and whatever he might bring his rookie year. They won't be missing much without Rudolph, IMO.Minnesota needs that cap room.
I think your downplaying Rudolph's value to the team... He's not a Kelce, Gronk, or Jimmy Graham in his prime, but he's been a good TE for a long time. He's probably more comparable to a Heath Miller/Todd Heap type of TE.
Add in the mentoring and leadership he brings to the locker room along with his impact in the community... I would rather keep him.
We lost a "glue" guy in Robison last season... If Rudolph gets traded, the Vikings better hope they have someone to fill that void.
Probably less about money than length of term. Rudolph's been a good tight end for us and huge part of the community. I'm sure he wanted a longer term commitment than the Vikings wanted to give.
I'd honestly prefer that he stays, because I think that he and the newbie would be a troublesome combination. That said, I know that the Vikings are up against the cap and have more expensive offseasons looming in the very near future.
Like it or not, as Rudy approaches 30, he is about to strike midnight on Spielman’s roster clock...
He's a pillar of the community type player...his generosity is without peer on the team...hopefully there is another player willing to 're-do...
It's interesting because he kept saying that he was willing to restructure. I hope they can sort it out. He is definitely an asset to the team and the community.
@"Vikergirl" said: It's interesting because he kept saying that he was willing to restructure. I hope they can sort it out. He is definitely an asset to the team and the community.His comments were very politically correct, but it was evident that he was just using the opportunity to draw the fans support.
Whether it's the full $7.625 million or reduced to (a theoretical) $3.625 million, what prevents the Vikings from pulling the plug and cutting him out of camp? It's not too surprising he would want guarantees in a redo - as it stands he can either get paid $7.625 million over the season or he will be released. As the Robison situation may have shown, redoing your deal to make it team friendly doesn't secure your roster spot anyway...
With them drafting his replacement the only way he should extend is if they guarantee more than his current season cap hit. Don't give cash back to extend just to get kicked to the curb like Brob.
@"JimmyinSD" said:I don't know if it matters if he has fan support. BRob had fan support and we all know how that went. Whatever decision that is made is all about business, loyalty will not be part of the equation.@"Vikergirl" said: It's interesting because he kept saying that he was willing to restructure. I hope they can sort it out. He is definitely an asset to the team and the community. His comments were very politically correct, but it was evident that he was just using the opportunity to draw the fans support.
@"Vikergirl" said:That's why he needs to do what's best for him business wise.@"JimmyinSD" said:I don't know if it matters if he has fan support. BRob had fan support and we all know how that went. Whatever decision that is made is all about business, loyalty will not be part of the equation.@"Vikergirl" said: It's interesting because he kept saying that he was willing to restructure. I hope they can sort it out. He is definitely an asset to the team and the community. His comments were very politically correct, but it was evident that he was just using the opportunity to draw the fans support.
@"Vikergirl" said:Well a shot across the bow then, but most fans only heard the part about him being willing to restructure and glassed over that part of adding years to the contract, either way his comments were not the way they were read by most and they were intentional, they had purpose.@"JimmyinSD" said:I don't know if it matters if he has fan support. BRob had fan support and we all know how that went. Whatever decision that is made is all about business, loyalty will not be part of the equation.@"Vikergirl" said: It's interesting because he kept saying that he was willing to restructure. I hope they can sort it out. He is definitely an asset to the team and the community. His comments were very politically correct, but it was evident that he was just using the opportunity to draw the fans support.
I hope they hold onto Rudolph for this year. He can still play. I am not so sure about Everson Griffen, if I am GM I am looking in that direction if I want to clear 8 million in cap.
@"JimmyinSD" said:I can't speak for everyone, but with only 1-year left on his deal, we were going to have to extend him to get any cap relief. I thought that much was obvious given that he's only 30 and it would make sense to add another year or two onto his current contract.@"Vikergirl" said:Well a shot across the bow then, but most fans only heard the part about him being willing to restructure and glassed over that part of adding years to the contract, either way his comments were not the way they were read by most and they were intentional, they had purpose.@"JimmyinSD" said:I don't know if it matters if he has fan support. BRob had fan support and we all know how that went. Whatever decision that is made is all about business, loyalty will not be part of the equation.@"Vikergirl" said: It's interesting because he kept saying that he was willing to restructure. I hope they can sort it out. He is definitely an asset to the team and the community. His comments were very politically correct, but it was evident that he was just using the opportunity to draw the fans support.
@"kmillard" said: I hope they hold onto Rudolph for this year. He can still play. I am not so sure about Everson Griffen, if I am GM I am looking in that direction if I want to clear 8 million in cap.I agree with this. I like Griff as well. You talk about not living up to a contract lately though. People want to bag on Rudy?
It's a tough spot to be. I agree that the Vikings are probably OK with Rudolph for 2-more years, but he likely wants a longer term. The hard part is that our cap is tight that money will need to come from somewhere. It doesn't all need to come from Rudolph and we are likely going to have a lot of inexperienced depth on the roster. I also don't think that Smith is a clean replacement for Rudolph, they are both TEs, but play very different roles and some of the advantages of having Smith go away if they don't have a more traditional TE to compliment him. Unfortunately, this is the flipside of the Vikings drafting good players and retaining their own talent. At a certain point the cap runs out and they get forced into making moves that they don't want to. Are there any other players who are targets to be cut or restructured? We didn't address OT until late in the draft, so I don't see Reiff as a restructure candidate.
@"kmillard" said: I hope they hold onto Rudolph for this year. He can still play. I am not so sure about Everson Griffen, if I am GM I am looking in that direction if I want to clear 8 million in cap.I agree with this. It wasn't a good PR move to get rid of Griffen last year, plus he was willing to restructure so he got a bit of a pass.
@"StickyBun" said: JMO, but I think the Vikings are pretty ok with Tyler Conklin in Rudolph's role this year, Morgan is one of the best blocking TEs in the NFL (and underrated catching) and then 2nd round pick Irv Smith Jr. and whatever he might bring his rookie year. They won't be missing much without Rudolph, IMO.Minnesota needs that cap room.
Conklin? Based on his 5-catch rookie season or his so-so college career that led to being picked in round 5? I have little expectation for Conklin and if the Vikings did, why would they have picked Smith?
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