(Photo by Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports) Kyle Rudolph
Trading Riley Reiff is something the Vikings absolutely need to do by Adam Patrick
The Minnesota Vikings tight end reportedly has interest from around the NFL.
Before the start of the current season, most didn’t believe the Minnesota Vikings were heading into a year that would result in them looking to unload several veteran contributors before the trade deadline. But the Vikings are sitting with a 1-5 record and they’ve probably already started the process of figuring out ways to rebuild their roster to be more competitive in 2021.
Minnesota has already made one trade so far this year and that went down on Thursday when they sent the recently acquired Yannick Ngakoue to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for a pair of draft picks.
With the Vikings already needing cap space in 2021 and their playoff chances for this season pretty much being non-existent at this point, teams around the NFL have reportedly been in contact with Minnesota to see which players they are willing to unload before the deadline.
Vikings Rumors: Kyle Rudolph drawing interest from teams around the league
After the Vikings dealt Ngakoue on Thursday, some have assumed that the team is willing to trade just about anyone on their roster before this season’s deadline.
But according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, this isn’t exactly the case. Breer reported on Thursday that Minnesota is mainly been open to dealing any guys who are currently in the last year of their contract. So players like Anthony Harris, Pat Elflein, Eric Wilson, and Tajae Sharpe could be among those that the Vikings are willing to trade in the near future.
Breer also mentioned that Minnesota has received some calls about the availability of tight end Kyle Rudolph.
Rudolph is currently in his 10th season with the Vikings and he recently made it known that he doesn’t have a desire to play for any other team before he retires. Unfortunately for the tight end, that decision probably isn’t going to be up to him.
Rudolph is scheduled to account for $9.45 million in cap space in 2021 and if Minnesota can figure out a way to free up that money with a trade before this year’s deadline, they need to do it. Especially since the tight end is hardly being used as a weapon in the Vikings’ passing attack this season.
In six games this year, Rudolph has only caught 10 passes for 123 yards and one touchdown. But he’s also only been targeted 14 times, so his production when he actually gets the ball has still been pretty good. It’s clear, however, that Minnesota has been putting more effort into making Irv Smith Jr.. the team’s top receiving tight end this season.
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Rudolph has developed into a big-time weapon in the red zone during his tenure with Minnesota and this ability could be something that a contending team might be interested in acquiring. Will the longtime Vikings tight end still be on the team’s roster after this year’s trade deadline?