It doesn’t sound like Kyle Rudolph will be with the Vikings for much longer. On Monday, head coach Mike Zimmer was asked about Rudolph’s status and hinted at a parting of ways. 
“I’ve had conversations with Kyle and quite honestly I really love all my players,” Zimmer said (Twitter link via Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press). “We expect Kyle to be here but sometimes business gets in the way.”
Zimmer’s comment jibes with last week’s report that contract negotiations between the Vikings and the tight end have come to a stop. The Vikings can save upwards of $7MM by moving on from Rudolph and the arival of second-round pick Irv Smith Jr. may give the team enough confidence to drop the veteran.
Rudolph is due $7.275MM in base pay for 2019 while Smith is set to make less than $5.8MM over the life of his four-year rookie deal.
Life under the cap: you can’t overpay everyone…..
I think the situation with the Vikings should convince everyone that a rethink is needed about the current model. Teams have a 53 player roster yet the cap allocation on the highest paid player (usually the QB) is in the 15-20% range. Not sure if creating a separate platform for QBs is a viable option but something has to give.
Cap problems or no cap problems, Rudolphs salarys too high for what he delivers. He is NOT a Gronk or Kelce. He is not even close , not half the player. He needs to reduce his salary to around $4 million if he wants to be a part of this team. No blocking. NO yards after the catch and not a top option in the passing game. We look to Diggs / Theilan and Cook before him.