The Minnesota Vikings are currently engaged in a contract standoff with tight end Kyle Rudolph, who confirmed on Wednesday that the Vikings do have a five-year offer on the table for him.
Still, in spite of Rudolph's financial dispute with the club, he showed up for the first day of organized team activities.
“I could have easily skipped an optional practice but that’s not what a leader does,” said Rudolph, according to Chad Graff of The Athletic.
Rudolph will count for $7.6 million against the cap in 2019, and with the 29-year-old entering the final year of his deal, it would make sense for the Vikings to either trade him or release him if the two sides can't come to terms.
The two-time Pro Bowler said last week that he wants a resolution sooner rather than later.
“I don’t want to be dealing with this come OTAs, minicamp, training camp. So the sooner the better, and I think that’s for both parties,” Rudolph said. “I think the Vikings want clarity; I think we want clarity. Yeah, the sooner the better. Last week would have been great, too. Obviously, it’s a difficult situation, so there’s a lot of complex things that go into it and that takes time. It’s not as easy as – they like me, I like them, we want to stay here. That’s just not the way it works.”
Rudolph, who played his collegiate football at the University of Notre Dame, was originally selected by the Vikings in the second round (43rd pick overall) of the 2011 NFL Draft.
He is coming off of a 2018 campaign in which he hauled in 64 receptions for 634 yards and four touchdowns.
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