After twelve years in the NFL, Kyle Rudolph calls it a career.
The tight end told Sports Illustrated’s Peter King about his decision to retire, saying he went into the off-season thinking he would play for a 13th year. His family was willing to move to wherever he could find a team that wanted him. But with four young children (twins in first grade and two other children under the age of five) he was ready to live a life outside of a football stadium.
Rudolph, 33, spent the vast majority of his career with the Minnesota Vikings, who drafted him in 2011 with a second-round pick. He would stay there for ten years and earn two Pro Bowls before the Vikings released him after the 2020 season. . He spent a year with the New York Giants in 2021 and in 2022 he hit out with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Throughout his career, he made 482 catches for 4,773 yards with 50 touchdowns.
Now retired, Rudolph embarks on his media career. Every Saturday, he’s a Big Ten analyst for Peacock, NBC’s streaming service. And while it has yet to be formally announced, King reported that Rudolph will co-host a weekly Fox Sports radio show on Sunday night. Rudolph looks at these new endeavors in exactly the same way as he looks at his football career.
“I’ve played for so long and earned veteran status,” Rudolph told King. “Now I’m a rookie and getting as many reps as possible 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 day’s storylines in the NFL on Sunday night will be cool too.”
Rudolph told NFL reporter Jordan Schultz that he plans to retire from the Vikings and will be honored in Week 3 when the Vikings play the Los Angeles Chargers.
