Tom Brady has a new tight end. The Buccaneers have signed Kyle Rudolph, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). It’s a one-year deal for the veteran tight end.
[RELATED: Vikings, Buccaneers Interested In TE Kyle Rudolph]
We heard recently that the market for Rudolph was starting to heat up. The Buccaneers were listed among the known suitors, as were the Vikings, Rudolph’s former team. Rudolph was also connected to the Broncos and his former GM George Paton earlier in the offseason. Ultimately, it was the Buccaneers who managed to land the free agent, and they now have a tight end who can somewhat replace the production of Rob Gronkowski, who announced his retirement earlier this offseason.
It’s been a bit since Rudolph has come close to even matching Gronk’s 2021 numbers, but at the very least, he’ll provide Brady with another reliable option at the position. Rudolph will likely compete with Cameron Brate for offensive reps, with rookies Cade Otton and Ko Kieft now competing for the third TE spot on Tampa Bay’s roster.
The Giants inked Rudolph to a two-year, $12MM deal in March of 2021, but following a season where the tight end finished with only 26 catches for 357 yards and one touchdown, he received his walking papers. Prior to his brief stint in New York, Rudolph spent the first 10 seasons of his career in Minnesota, earning a pair of Pro Bowl nods. He ranks sixth in Vikings history in receptions (453) and receiving touchdowns (48), and he’s 10th in receiving yards (4,488). Rudolph saw reduced targets during his final seasons with the organization, but he was still relatively consistent in the yards-per-catch category (including a career-high 11.9-yards per reception in 2020).
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Watched Rudolph in every game last year with Giants.
He was still good at run blocking but had a lot of trouble getting open or creating separation. After the foot surgery seems to have lost a step.
I’m not disagreeing entirely but the rest of the pieces around him in the Giants’ offense didn’t help either. If you’re not overly concerned about the deep ball on defense you can play up toward the line more which is where Rudolph is going to get his catches in the short-to-medium range. When you’re a step or two slower, like you said, it’s a lot harder to get open when your routes are more congested with defenders.
Rudolph was a good TE in his day. Injuries have really taken their toll. This isn’t going to work out in the end. Bucs have nothing to lose, they have a Gronk sized hole in the offense.
Brady as much as any QB needs a safety blanket TE. He has a good one in Rudolph so expect more of the same from the TB offense. Under 5 yard quick passes with YAC to keep the ball moving. Its how Brady has kept his jersey clean all these years and rarely gets touched let alone injured despite who is on the OL. You’d think others would copy that strategy? Those rings he has tell you they should.
In this case, Brady has one of the best O-lines in the league, and a very good alternate TE in Cameron Brate. Those two things will add to what you’ve already mentioned, which I agree with. Brady’s career has seen him know his safety outlets very well, which helps him in case of trouble. The Pats offense was constructed in such a way as to always have one available, prioritizing that over a big play in most instances. Sometimes that was a shifty receiver (Welker, Amendola, Edelman) a good receiving back (Woodhead, White, Vereen) or a TE (Gronk, Hernandez, Watson). There was always an outlet, and Brady was smart enough to always know where it would be.
Trust me, Rudy and YAC do not go together. If a defender blows on him he goes down and he was slow before the foot injury that made him even slower. He is a red zone target and blocker at this point and that’s it
On that I agree entirely. The advantage of that 5 yard pass to a TE like Rudolph is that you’re getting the five yards in a pressure situation, not that you’d get much YAC (maybe a couple of contested yards) after. The same skills that make a guy good in the red zone are the ones that make him good as a safety net type anyway-going up and getting contested catches, or bodying out receivers.
The interesting thing to note is that Rudolph has similar size to Gronkowski, if not the same athleticism. I doubt that he gets used in the open field in a similar manner, but he can likely pick up some of the same red zone or short yardage plays. This, and the desire to play out his twilight years with a contender, is why I thought that he’d end up in Tampa.