Minnesota Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph is making it known that he will not take a pay cut.
The Vikings are currently dealing with a salary cap problem. Minnesota is projected to be $12.8 million over the cap. The Vikings have two options in dealing with the cap space issue. The options are to either release Rudolph or restructure his contract. The 31-year-old tight end has three years left on his deal with the team.
Releasing Rudolph would allow the team to gain $5.1 million in cap space. Restructuring the veteran’s contract would allow the team to lower his 2021 expected salary of $7.65 million to approximately $3.8 million.
However, the issue is that the tight end has no desire to take a pay cut. Rudolph revealed on the Unrestricted with Ben Leber podcast that he was unhappy with how the team changed his offensive role. Over the past two seasons with the Vikings, Rudolph went from the team’s second leading receiver to a mere afterthought. “It wouldn’t happen,” Rudolph said on thoughts of the team possibly approaching him for a salary cut.
Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter!
A week of sports news in your in-box.
We find the sports news you need to know, so you don't have to.
In regard to the team’s salary cap issue, he said, “I’m looking at this situation like, ‘Hey, we’re paying this guy a lot of money and you’re not using him, so why are we continuing to pay him a lot of money?”
In that same podcast, Rudolph added, “With that being said, I think I’m worth every dime of my contract.” The veteran tight end continued, “That doesn’t mean that I’m used to my potential, and I’m used to doing what I do well, so it will be interesting over the next few months.”
Rudolph’s role on the team changed dramatically from 2019 to 2020. Since he wasn’t catching as many passes this past season, he was asked to do other things to improve the offense. “I’ve somehow become a pretty decent blocker because I’ve been forced to,” he said.
Despite the role change and some of his angry comments, Rudolph reiterated that he wanted to stay with the Vikings. “I don’t want to go anywhere else,” he said.
With their big three finally back in action Wednesday, the Philadelphia 76ers suffered another setback…
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/tny--EWynOQ Nike paid tribute to Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal with a 10-meter-tall animated display…
https://youtu.be/dtJoJz9hC48 Tennis legend Rafael Nadal bid a heartfelt goodbye to his devoted Spanish fans as he brought…
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/DQ9Rxhnuer4 U.S. Olympic fencer Eli Dershwitz shed light on the critical skills necessary in fencing…
Two offensive linemen for the Chicago Bears returned to practice, a massive step in the…
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/s2g9t_33Myw President-elect Donald Trump received a warm welcome from Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighter Jon…