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Two-time Pro Bowl tight end Kyle Rudolph was supposed to be the missing link to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' last run at a Super Bowl during the Tom Brady era.
Rudolph had established himself as one of the NFL's top tight ends during his 10-year tenure with the Minnesota Vikings. Not only was he one of Minnesota's most reliable targets, he led the Vikings in receiving touchdowns during the 2016 and 2017 seasons, helping lead the team to an NFC Championship Game appearance in the latter year after posting another Pro Bowl campaign.
Despite signing on as a replacement for the retired Rob Gronkowski, Rudolph never made a dent on the field and actually barely saw any playing time. Rudolph played in nine games and appeared in just 72 offensive snaps with just three catches for 28 yards and a receiving touchdown.
The Buccaneers instead opted to go with longtime team tight end Cameron Brate — he initially joined the team during the 2014 season — and rookie Cade Otton as their top two tight ends.
“That year was a very difficult year, a very frustrating year,” says Kyle Rudolph in a one-on-one interview on behalf of his partnership with Polaris. “We weren't very good on third down as an offense. We weren't very good in the red zone as an offense and ultimately that's why the best quarterback that ever played called me and wanted me to be down there. It was puzzling, certainly both him and I wondered why I was in sweatpants the majority of the year.
Rudolph's one noteworthy play that season came in the season finale against the Atlanta Falcons when he caught Tom Brady's last-ever regular-season touchdown pass. Brady would go on to retire after the season.
“But then it ended with me being able to go out there and play with him against the Falcons in our last regular season game and catching a touchdown in the red zone on third down, which was exactly the reason why I was brought here,” says Rudolph. “Unfortunately, we just couldn't seem to put it together.”
The veteran tight end who spent most of his 12-season career as a top receiving weapon called that play the “highlight” of his season with the Buccaneers.
“That was the highlight of my year,” says Rudolph. “I spent most of the year in sweatpants. We were 8-9, I think we extremely underachieved.”
Kyle Rudolph caught 482 passes for 4,773 receiving yards and 50 touchdowns during his 12-season career. Between 2011 and 2020, Rudolph had 48 receiving touchdowns — the third-most of any tight end in the NFL during that time frame.
Although the Buccaneers ended their season as the NFC South champs, they went 8-9 in an extremely difficult season. The offense constantly sputtered and were saved by late-game heroics from Brady, who led four fourth-quarter comebacks and five game-winning drives that season. Tampa Bay ranked 25th in points scored that season.
Their season ended in a blowout loss to the Dallas Cowboys at home in the Wild Card round, losing 31-14. Rudolph would retire after the season and he now works as a Big Ten analyst for Peacock.
“I was in sweatpants again the following week as we got smoked by the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Wild Card Round,” Rudolph continued. “Just a really disappointing year. For me personally, it was one of the most talented teams I had ever been on. We just couldn't seem to put it together. We started 2-0, then dropped a couple and it was like we just kind of hovered around .500 all year and never really put it together.”
