Getty Kyle Rudolph #82 of the Minnesota Vikings.
The New York Giants believed they found themselves the perfect compliment to Evan Engram when they agreed to a deal with former Minnesota Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph last week. Now there’s no certainty that he will even be part of the team.
According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, there’s been a “snag” in the addition of the two-time Pro Bowl selection. Sources claim that the Giants’ medical staff have grown concerned with the tight end’s foot following a physical and believe that he will need surgery. Garafolo adds that the two sides are discussing how to proceed.
Rudolph reportedly remains in East Rutherford on Tuesday night, meeting with the team in hopes that he and the Giants can iron everything out and figure out how to proceed with medical plans. The “deal isn’t dead at this point,” per Garafolo. Yet, the two-year agreed-upon deal has yet to be signed at this moment.
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Rudolph to Become a Giant on Wednesday?
Despite these reports, sources with knowledge of the situation have informed Pro Football Talk that Rudolph is still expected to be part of the team’s future plans. In fact, they expect the 10-year pro to officially become a Giant on Wednesday morning.
“However they proceed, they’ll be proceeding with Rudolph as a Giant, we’re told,” per PFT’s Mike Florio.
A former second-round pick of the Vikings back in 2011, Rudolph agreed to a two-year, $12 million deal with the Giants last week. The contract includes a signing bonus of $4.5 million and a base salary of $2.5 million for the 2021 season.
What Rudolph Offers the Giants
Over Rudolph’s 10-year tenure in Minnesota, the Notre Dame product amassed 453 receptions, 4,488 receiving yards and 48 touchdowns, notching two Pro Bowl nods along the way (2012,2017).
Rudolph is coming off the least productive season of his NFL career, as he began to be fazed out of Minnesota’s offense in favor of youngsters Irv Smith Jr. and Tyler Conklin. With that said, when given the opportunity he still remains a viable threat in the passing game. From 2016 through 2019, Rudolph averaged 593 receiving yards on 60 receptions, while accumulating a total of 25 touchdowns over that span. A picture of consistency, the Ohio native has earned an overall Pro Football Focus grade of 70-plus in all but four of his 10 NFL seasons, never once grading below 63.2.
In a wild stat — one that will likely further fuel the Evan Engram haters — Rudolph has been credited with 73 receptions and zero drops on 90 targets over his past two seasons, per New York Daily News’ Pat Leonard. For comparison, Engram ranked fourth in the entire league with eight recorded drops in 2020. Furthermore, Rudolph has been extremely durable, appearing in 92 of the Vikings’ 96 regular-season games since 2015. Engram, on the other hand, has missed 14 games over his four-year NFL career.
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