The Tampa Bay Buccaneers recently got confirmation from Rob Gronkowski that even Tom Brady himself could not pull him out of retirement this time. That left the Bucs scrambling for a replacement. Yes, they still have Cameron Brate on their roster. But he is primarily a blocker and a red zone threat. Late Wednesday night, it was announced that Tampa Bay solved their problem. They signed former Pro Bowl tight end Kyle Rudolph on a one-year deal, according to ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter.
Rudolph is also a big tight end similar to Brate but is much more prone to making plays between the 20s as well as in the red zone. The veteran tight end spent the first 10 years of his career with the Minnesota Vikings before playing last season with the New York Giants.
During his time in Minnesota, Rudolph made the Pro Bowl twice. He earned his first nod during his second season in the NFL in 2012. He got back to the Pro Bowl five seasons later in 2017. Interestingly, his best season was in 2016 when he pulled down a career-high 83 catches for another career-high 840 yards. He did not make the Pro Bowl that season though.
The Buccaneers are loaded once again on offense. Tom Brady has numerous weapons at his disposal. He has Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and newly acquired Russel Gage as his wide receivers. Kyle Rudolph and Brate at tight end and Leonard Fournette at tailback. However, recent reports were that Fournette is very much overweight.
Nevertheless, Tampa Bay will enter the 2022 NFL season as one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl. One of the few holes on offense they might have just filled, helping their chances in what could be Tom Brady's final season.