Former Minnesota Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph has told Peter King of Monday Morning Quarterback that he is officially retiring from the NFL.
“I played for so long and earned a veteran status,” Rudolph told King Saturday. “Now I’m a rookie getting as many reps as I can in the media world. This off-season is about, ‘Where do I fit in?’ The NBC job doing games on Peacock is cool. And talking about the storylines of the day in the NFL on Sunday nights will be cool, too.”
King reports that Rudolph wanted to play a 13th season in the NFL but with two young kids and a chance to develop into a star in the football TV world, he decided to move on.
Rudolph also told NFL insider Jordan Schultz that the Vikings, who drafted Rudolph in the second round of the 2011 draft, are planning to honor him during the team’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sept. 24.
Rudolph went on to play 10 of his 12 seasons in Minnesota andwas a two-time Pro Bowler during his career in 2012 and 2017. He ranks sixth in Vikings history in touchdown receptions (48) and games played (140). Rudolph also ranks 11th in receiving yards (4,488) but his biggest impact may have been in the community.
“Kyle Rudolph’s End Zone” at the Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital opened in 2018 as a place designed to help children and teenagers find a place to play, relax, engage in healing therapies, and socialize with other kids who know what it’s like to spend time in the hospital and was part of a campaign that nominated him for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award later that year.
Rudolph went on to play two more seasons after he was released by the Vikings following the 2021 season spending one season each with the New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Rudolph will now begin a career in media, working as a Big Ten analyst at Peacock while also co-hosting a show on FOX Sports radio on Sunday nights.
