Minnesota Vikings: 3 Players who won’t be back in 2021

1. Kyle Rudolph, TE

The biggest candidate that will likely not return to Minnesota this offseason and during the 2021 season is veteran Pro Bowl tight end Kyle Rudolph.

It’s not that Rudolph can’t produce any more or that the Vikings wouldn’t want him to return, but his contract is just too large for the type of production he has dished out over the last year or two.

Although Rudolph is a Vikings fan favorite and has continued to do a lot in local Minnesota communities during his 10-year NFL career, we might have seen Rudolph take the field in purple and gold for the final time.

In 2019, Rudolph signed a four-year, $36 million contract extension to remain in Minnesota, but the fully guaranteed portion of that contract expired after the conclusion of the 2020 season. If the Vikings did cut Rudolph, it would still result in a cap hit of nearly $10 million in 2021, but would allow the team to push Irv Smith Jr., Tyler Conklin and others into starting roles at tight end while allowing the 31-year-old Rudolph to finish his career elsewhere.

This season, Rudolph appeared in just 12 games for Minnesota, finishing with 28 catches (lowest since 2014) for 334 yards (lowest since 2014) and one touchdown (career-worst).

Rudolph could certainly take a large pay cut to remain with the Vikings if that is indeed what he wants to do and if he has no desire to leave the organization for the remainder of his career. But he would not only take a large pay cut, but would also get a cut in playing time while Minnesota tries to test the waters with Smith as the starting tight end. That might be enough for the two sides to ultimately part ways with each other for the first time in 10 years.