Veteran players could drop the pinch of the expected salary cap in 2021 due to the still raging COVID-19 pandemic.
One such player is the Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph, who due to declining production, snaps and a high contract is an excellent example of a player who can be released and / or be asked for a solid pay cut. to take.
From Rudolph’s point of view, he deserves all that his contract entails and tells the Unlimited with the Ben Leber Podcast that he is “worth every penny.”
“It’s clear I’m realistic. I see both sides,” Rudolph said via ESPN’s Courtney Cronin. “If I were [team owners] the Wilfs, if I were [general manager] Rick [Spielman], I look at this situation like, ‘Hey, we pay this guy a lot of money and you do not use him, so why do we continue to pay him a lot of money?’
“With that said, I think I’m worth every penny of my contract. That does not mean I’m used to my potential and that I’m used to doing what I do well, so it’s going to be interesting for the next few months. Like I said, I have three years left on my contract. I do not want to go anywhere else. I somehow became a reasonable blocker because I was forced. It was definitely not something that I ever did. “I did well at some point in my career. Maybe in high school because I was bigger than everyone else, but even then I just wanted to run around and catch balls.”
In 2019, the Vikings extended Rudolph’s contract to lower the cap line, just two months after they beat Irv Smith Jr. in the second round. Rudolph has another three years on his contract. Its cap battle for 2020 is $ 9.45 million. The Vikes would save $ 5.1 million on the limit by cutting the TE with $ 4.35 million in dead money.
Unfortunately for Rudolph, the Vikings stand at $ 12.8 million above the expected salary cap for 2021 per Over The Cap.
Rudolph has only 28 catches for 334 yards and a TD career-low TD in 12 games in 2020.
“Early last season, the writing was on the wall,” Rudolph said. “I saw where our offense was headed. I had about seven or eight catches in the first six games. It was just absurd. I literally blocked all the time.”
Asked if the Vikings had approached him about a pay cut, Rudolph was clear about his position.