MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Vikings have released veteran tight end Kyle Rudolph after 10 seasons, the team announced on Tuesday.
The move saves Minnesota $5.1 million against the salary cap for 2021. Rudolph, 31, will become a free agent for the first time in his NFL career.
The former second-round draft pick of the Vikings in 2011 issued a heartfelt goodbye in a story published by The Players' Tribune reflecting on his 10 seasons in Minnesota.
Looking back on the 2020 NFL season, it is pretty obvious where the Minnesota Vikings fell short. The team was able to score a lot of points offensively but couldn’t stop other teams from marching into the end zone.
Sure, the purple and gold will be getting several players back who were lost for the season due to injury, but there are still holes in the defense and some starters who are bound to get a big payday from other teams in free agency.
Throughout their history, the Minnesota Vikings have seen plenty of players walk through their doors and fail to live up to their expectations. For safety Harrison Smith, he is not someone who is a part of this group.
In 2012, the Vikings traded back into the first round of that year’s NFL Draft to select Smith out of the University of Notre Dame. Since then, all the talented safety has done is establish himself as a leader of Minnesota’s defense while earning five trips to the Pro Bowl and one First-Team All-Pro selection.
Smith only has one year left on his current contract with the Vikings, but it’s beginning to sound like his tenure with the franchise will continue past the upcoming season.
