Despite the fact that the NFL is currently in the midst of something much different than a lockout, Minnesota Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph knows the feeling of being away all too well.

Due to the last NFL lockout back in 2011 when Rudolph was originally drafted by the Vikings, he was initially unable to speak to his new coaches and wasn't allowed to practice with his new Minnesota teammates.

“I can just magnify it to the point where I have to do everything I can to prepare myself, both physically and mentally, to be ready for things to open back up tomorrow,” Rudolph recently told Ben Goessling of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

This time around, though, communication is not the issue as virtual technology has seemingly taken over the world over the course of the last few weeks. Due to the ongoing pandemic, physical interaction and the proper workouts are the issue for Rudolph and the rest of the NFL, who will surely not encounter a typical offseason program this summer.

“For the first time in the course of [coach Mike Zimmer’s] seven years here, we’re going to have a lot of new faces on our team,” Rudolph added. “It would be great to have these workouts in Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3 of our offseason to come together as a team, because there are going to be so many new faces. But we can’t control the circumstances. For us, it will put that much more of an onus on the veteran guys who have been here before, who know the standard we operate at, and bring those new guys in as quickly as possible.”

It is also worth noting that this offseason will be especially different for soon-to-be rookies as this year's NFL Draft is now less than 10 days away.