When the New York Giants kick off the regular-season against the Denver Broncos on September 12, tight end Kyle Rudolph will be on the field with his teammates.
Rudolph told the New York Daily News this week that he “will not miss any football” following an offseason foot surgery that initially put his contract in jeopardy.
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On the field, meanwhile, Rudolph assured the News on Wednesday that he “won’t miss any football” due to offseason foot surgery — a welcome update on a key piece in the Giants’ 2021 free agent spending spree.
Rudolph had promised a full recovery back in March, as well. But then the timing of his surgery and the status of his rehab were unclear. He sat out spring OTAs and minicamp and head coach Joe Judge remained noncommittal on Rudolph’s progress.
Although expectations are that he will be healthy come Week 1, Rudolph has not participated in any on-field workouts this offseason. He’s been relegated to rehab, film work and standing on the sideline.
Still, Rudolph is grateful to the Giants for catching the injury in the first place.
“As far as football goes, I was extremely fortunate that the Giants organization and everyone involved [caught it], and how they were able to handle my situation, that I won’t miss any football,” Rudolph said. “At this point it’s about taking each day and taking that opportunity to not only get myself healthy but get myself better. It’s one thing to get and be healthy, it’s another to be ready to go and play in an NFL game. So I’m taking that day by day.
“I had no symptoms. I didn’t feel anything. I felt completely fine coming out of last season. After I rehabbed [a foot injury during the 2020 season], I was anticipating coming back for the last game of the year and then playing through the playoffs. Unfortunately that didn’t work out for us as a team last year in Minnesota, so there were no playoffs.”
Rudolph will likely be limited during training camp if he participates at all.
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