Rudolph and the Vikings will have resolution by May 21st

From a pure football perspective, I think we need to keep Rudy in 2019. We're going to see a lot of 2 TE sets and I'd feel much better if one of those was Rudolph. I love me some Irv, but TEs can really surprise you with how long they take to get it. 

I have a feeling if we can't somehow agree with Rudolph, we're going to be on the hunt for another veteran TE. Ryan Griffin is a TE who might be looking at a 6/1 release. And he's about half the cost of Rudolph. 

@"Geoff Nichols" said:

@"JimmyinSD" said:

@"Geoff Nichols" said: The issue appears to be a difference in how each side wants to resolve the matter. 

If the Vikings don't want to pay him top line TE money moving forward it makes an extension tough since they'll be attaching them to future guarantees at a high per year rate. From Rudolph's standpoint it looks like he wants to stay in purple but doesn't like the idea of a fully non-guaranteed 1 year deal. Although TE's have a decent life past 30 an injury or a lackadaisical 2019 probably kill his market value.  

What does it mean? If Rudy is going to refuse to play on his current deal they probably need to trade him or release him, although its probably not what the Vikings want to do. From the other side the Vikings are probably looking to extend Rudy way below market average or asking him to take a straight pay-cut in return for guaranteed money, which is rare in the NFL. 

why is this so difficult?  why not use incentives to allow him to reach the money he wants to make and thinks he deserves?  if he thinks he should be paid like a top TE,  then he needs to play like a top TE.   his base should be set on where he is currently at or slighty below and then add incentives if he out performs the deal?  let him bank on himself and his abilities to get to those marks.

Because there needs to be a long-term solution for both sides. Fixing 2019 isn't that tough but figuring out how to handle 2020/21 is very difficult. The Vikings don't want to tie themselves to long-term guaranteed money in an extension. Alternatively Rudy is going to want guarantees or they are going to end up in this exact situation a year from now. If you look at the situation as a whole, Rudolph and his camp are trying to leverage the Vikings limited cap space into an extension and that really benefits Rudy long-term. Now they're just cranking up the heat a little more and saying they want a resolution before OTA's so they know if Rudolph is or isn't in their future plans suggesting the alternative be a trade. 

That's one hell of a post Mark. It sheds a new light on the subject.

So much angst in this thread about whether they can keep a tight end who has great hands, and is a valuable red zone target. Yes, he's slow and doesn't get great separation all the time. But he is very good at contested balls.

We wouldn't have this question if they hadn't paid a QB the way they did.  And that will likely prove to be the bottom line in performance, whether Rudy stays or goes.

I can see value with him in 2 TE sets and we really need a 3rd target outside of Diggs/Thielen.

But I've never been a huge Rudolph fan. Nice player, community guy, not a game changer.

Certainly a role for him on team with the right $$, but I aint losing sleep if they trade him for a decent return either. 

@"jargomcfargo" said: That's one hell of a post Mark. It sheds a new light on the subject.

So much angst in this thread about whether they can keep a tight end who has great hands, and is a valuable red zone target. Yes, he's slow and doesn't get great separation all the time. But he is very good at contested balls.

We wouldn't have this question if they hadn't paid a QB the way they did.  And that will likely prove to be the bottom line in performance, whether Rudy stays or goes.

Not sure if its Rudolph or some other vet restructuring, but something has to happen by 3 pm central today to fit in Bradbury who just officially signed.

@"purplefaithful" said: I can see value with him in 2 TE sets and we really need a 3rd target outside of Diggs/Thielen.

But I've never been a huge Rudolph fan. Nice player, community guy, not a game changer.

Certainly a role for him on team with the right $$, but I aint losing sleep if they trade him for a decent return either. 

I would agree.  When he first came on the scene...especially the year he was Pro Bowl MVP...he was looking like a Gronk-lite weapon.  But the last few years he seems to disappear at times.  Whether it's been the QB turnover or the emergence of Thielen/Diggs, I don't know.  He's not the consistent red-zone weapon as of late.
But if we could convince Belichick  to part with a 2020 #2 or a combination of Rudy/Tread for #2 and a couple dozen lobsters ;) , I'd certainly entertain a discussion.  And IF we can get a true 3rd weapon out of the receivers we now have, losing him wan't hurt that much.

Ralphie___I 'd say it has more to do with the oline going to crap and they needing to keep him in for more blocking support which limited the time he got to rub and drop into a route.

Jimmy the problem with incentives is he's a third option and then you have his replacement possibly lining up in the other TE spot---who's to say they don't just leave him in for the blocking te and focus on letting irving  run routes most of the time thus negating the incentive clause.  Arizona did it with bradford

Does Kendricks restructuring mean there is enough cap room to now keep Rudolph

@"Purple Haze" said: Does Kendricks restructuring mean there is enough cap room to now keep Rudolph

From a cap perspective 2019 was always going to be the year they are tight due to Cousins. Once you get to 2020 you have a lot more options since they'll make a decision to extend Cousins (lowering his cap hit in 2020) or decide to move on after the 2020 season which would put a number of cap saving techniques on the table. 

5-22-19,  no deal yet for Rudy,  looks like ol charlie was wrong once again....

@"JimmyinSD" said: 5-22-19,  no deal yet for Rudy,  looks like ol charlie was wrong once again....

@"Ralphie" said:

@"JimmyinSD" said: 5-22-19,  no deal yet for Rudy,  looks like ol charlie was wrong once again....

;)

Well, there is this:

https://kfgo.com/news/articles/2019/may/22/reports-vikings-te-rudolph-confirms-five-year-offer/

@"BarrNone55" said: Well, there is this:

https://kfgo.com/news/articles/2019/may/22/reports-vikings-te-rudolph-confirms-five-year-offer/

Rudolph said Wednesday there is “validity” to last week’s Pro Football Talk report the Vikings have offered him a five-year contract extension that would make him one of the league’s highest-paid tight ends while providing relief to a cap-strapped team. He has been the subject of trade rumors in recent weeks, and said his agent, Brian Murphy, has told him of interest from several teams.
On Wednesday, though, Rudolph cited Murphy’s long history of business with the Vikings’ front office as a reason for his hope a deal would get done this spring.
“He’s got four Pro Bowlers and a first-round pick , so they’ve worked together plenty of times,“ Rudolph said. “I can just come out here every day and worry about practice, because I trust Brian and I trust Rob . I know they’re working extremely hard to try to make something happen.”
The Vikings, as part of a new deal, could easily lower Rudolph’s 2019 cap number by taking a similar approach to the one they used with Eric Kendricks last week, converting part of the linebacker’s 2019 base salary to a signing bonus so they had the cap space to sign first-round pick Garrett Bradbury. Because signing bonuses are amortized for up to five years over the life of a contract, the Vikings could keep Rudolph’s $7.625 million salary the same for 2019, but create more than $5 million in cap space just by giving him a league-minimum $930,000 base salary and converting the remainder of his base salary to a signing bonus.

With Rudolph set to turn 30 in November, though, the presence or structure of guaranteed cash beyond 2019 could be a sticking point in negotiations. Absent the kind of guaranteed money that would make it difficult for the Vikings to release him in the future, a designation as one of the league’s highest-paid tight ends wouldn’t provide much security for Rudolph.
In the meantime, though, the eight-year veteran is at the Vikings’ practice facility, working with Smith as part of an offense the Vikings hope can have more versatility than it did last year.
“It forces defenses to play with three linebackers, and that allows us to control the game,” Rudolph said. “When we go out there in three-wide sets, people talk about creating mismatches; now they have five on the field. Yeah, there’s still mismatches, but now we can kind of control and do things how we want to do them.”
Even with Smith’s presence contributing to Rudolph’s uncertain status, the rookie said Rudolph has been readily available with advice on everything from route-running details to film study habits.
“Kyle’s done such a great job not making a distraction, and not for the tight end room,” Smith said. “He’s here, he’s part of this team, and I’m just trying to pick his brain and learn from him.”
http://www.startribune.com/kyle-rudolph-still-hopes-deal-with-vikings-can-be-reached/510283522/