Old comments from Kyle Rudolph are being blown out of proportion

Some old comments from former Minnesota Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph about how he’s enjoyed his time as a member of the New York Giants recently popped up.

Ever since he departed from the Minnesota Vikings this past offseason, it’s been odd to see tight end Kyle Rudolph sporting the red and blue colors of the New York Giants.

After spending 10 years with the Vikings, some felt Rudolph would never play for another team in the NFL. But Minnesota wanted to move on from him back in March and the veteran tight end wasn’t ready to be done playing in the league.

So Rudolph signed with the Giants, and earlier this year, it sounded like he was excited about the opportunity to compete in the NFC East.

Did Kyle Rudolph take a shot at Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer?

A few weeks ago when teams were still preparing for the start of the regular season, Rudolph was asked about what he’s learned from New York head coach Joe Judge so far. The former Vikings tight end gave an answer that is currently being misinterpreted by some fans of his old team.

"“You see the culture that [Joe Judge] is trying to instill here with us as the New York Giants. We have a really young team. It’s a team that needs to learn how to win. He says it all the time, ‘you can’t start winning until you stop losing,’ and you see that day in and day out. The way he pushes us on our fundamentals, on our technique, and to me, it’s the first time I’ve had a head coach that’s not a defensive coordinator. So it’s a head coach that’s in charge of the entire team and it’s been a lot of fun for me to get to learn from him.”"

That last bit about having a head coach that isn’t a defensive coordinator is what some have interpreted as Rudolph taking a shot at his former Minnesota head coach, Mike Zimmer.

People looking for the Vikings to move on from Zimmer sooner than later might want to view this as Rudolph taking a shot at his old head coach. But the tight end was also in Minnesota when Leslie Frazier, another former defensive coordinator, was the team’s head coach. So why isn’t it being viewed as Rudolph taking a shot at Frazier too?

The former Vikings tight end has never been one to not say what’s on his mind or deceive the public with any of his comments. So there’s nothing more or nothing less to Rudolph saying he’s having fun on a team that has a head coach who isn’t more focused on the offense or the defense.

The veteran tight end has also publicly stated in the past that he would run through a wall for Zimmer. But we don’t need to bring that up, it might ruin the narrative.