Top 10 Minnesota Vikings tight ends in franchise history
By Tim Arcand
The Minnesota Vikings may be looking for some cap space by parting ways with tight end Kyle Rudolph. Where does Rudolph rank among Vikings all-time tight ends?
According to Spotrac, the Minnesota Vikings are currently sitting with approximately $5 million in salary cap space heading into the 2019 NFL Draft. That doesn’t Vikings give general manager Rick Spielman and head coach Mike Zimmer any room to make adjustments to a roster that finished 8-7-1 last season.
After signing quarterback Kirk Cousins to a three-year, $84 million contract last offseason, the expectations for the Vikings have skyrocketed.
The $29 million that Cousins is due next season accounts for 15 percent of the Minnesota’s total salary cap. In order to have any bargaining room this offseason, the Vikings will need to be very creative in restructuring some deals.
Among players speculated as potential salary cap victims are defensive end Everson Griffen and tight end Kyle Rudolph. Griffen will count $11.7 million against the cap and Rudolph $7.6 million. Both are in the top 10 of a number of all-time statistical categories for the Vikings. Griffen’s 66.5 career sacks are among the most in Minnesota history and Rudolph ranks eighth in career receptions with 386.
So where does Rudolph rank among all the tight ends that have ever suited up for the Vikings? Here are the top 10 and for this ranking the following were used in this order of importance; touchdown receptions, receiving yards, receptions, games, and seasons played.