After months of speculation, former Minnesota Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph officially revealed on Monday that he has decided to retire from his playing career in the NFL.
Rudolph spent the first 10 years of his pro career as a member of the Vikings, and he was one of the most accomplished tight ends in the history of the franchise.
Currently, Rudolph holds Minnesota's all-time records for career touchdown catches by a tight end (48) and catches by a tight end in a single season (83 in 2016). He also accumulated the second-most career catches and receiving yards by a tight end in Vikings history. Only Steve Jordan had more.
Selected by Minnesota in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft, Rudolph's first few seasons with the franchise were highlighted more by injuries than the actual time he was able to spend on the field. The tight end missed a total of 16 games during his first four years with the Vikings.
However, Minnesota felt Rudolph was still worth keeping around, and it paid off, as he went on to appear in 92 consecutive games from 2015 to 2020. During that span of time, Rudolph hauled in 31 touchdown passes, more than any other tight end in the NFL not named Travis Kelce or Rob Gronkowski.
The veteran tight end had a number of memorable moments during his Vikings career, but the one that will likely always stick out is the game-winning touchdown catch he made in overtime to help Minnesota pull off an upset over the New Orleans Saints in the first round of the 2019 playoffs.
.@KirkCousins8 to @KyleRudolph82 for the @Vikings walkoff win in OT. pic.twitter.com/aXSJllOqpB
— NFL (@NFL) January 5, 2020
Off the field, Rudolph was extremely active in the Twin Cities community, he hardly ever caused any controversy with his comments to the media, and he was a great locker-room leader.
His career only resulted in two trips to the Pro Bowl, but if anyone were to ask the Vikings if they would select Rudolph again if they had the opportunity to go back to the 2011 draft, it's hard to imagine them saying no.