The Minnesota Vikings agreed to a contract extension with tight end Kyle Rudolph on Sunday. He was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent following the upcoming 2014 season. The contract is a five-year deal worth a minimum of $36.5 million and could be worth up to $40 million. Rudolph is guaranteed $19.4 million in the new deal. He'll receive a $6.5 million signing bonus and a $960,000 guaranteed base salary this season. The remaining $12 million in guarantees are for injury only.
Rudolph has 109 catches for 1,055 yards and 15 touchdowns in 39 games over three seasons with Minnesota.
Kyle Rudolph was a second-round pick of the Vikings in the 2011 NFL Draft. He suffered a serious hamstring injury in his final season at Notre Dame. The injury likely kept him out of the first round of the draft and appeared to slow him a bit during his rookie season. He wasn't fully healed until the 2012 season when he earned an invite to the Pro Bowl. The highlight of his three-year NFL career to date was being named the Most Valuable Player of that Pro Bowl. His performance in that game showed what he could do on a football field when decent quarterbacks are throwing to him. When healthy, Kyle Rudolph can be a dominant pass catcher. He's also worked very hard to become a very effective blocker. This contract is proof that the Vikings see him as one of the building-blocks of the franchise.
It's nice to get Rudolph's contractual situation settled before the season. It's never a good thing to have contract questions hanging over a player and a team during the season. It only gets in the way. That's really due to the media. They rarely let team or player forget that there's a business issue hanging over the team. Rudolph was priority #1 of the players set to become free agents at the end of the 2014 season. Now, that title likely lands on right guard Brandon Fusco. He was a sixth-round pick of the Vikings in the same draft as Rudolph. He spent his college days at itty bitty Slippery Rock. It took him a little while to become acclimated to big-time football. He really emerged as key member of the offensive line last season. He may have even been the Vikings best lineman last season. Certainly the most consistent. It would be nice to see Fusco's future with the team insured. For now, it's great news that Kyle Rudolph's immediate NFL future will remain in Minnesota.
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