Tag: Kyle Rudolph

Kyle Rudolph on whether he pushed off against the Saints: ‘absolutely not’

Kyle Rudolph shuts down the criticism that he pushed off against the Saints in overtime.

The Saints and pass interference calls will forever live in infamy after the Rams’ Nickell Robey-Coleman committed an act that is objectively pass interference against the Saints, only to have it not called. The Rams won the game and moved onto the Super Bowl.

But that isn’t the most recent gripe some people have about pass interference in a Saints game. This time, it’s Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph, who some think pushed off in the end zone to make the overtime touchdown reception against the Saints this year.

Does Rudolph think that?

“Absolutely not,” Rudolph said on The Pat McAfee Show. “It’s a reviewable play. The rule was changed for (the Saints), because of what happened the year prior.”

Rudolph is referring to the aforementioned Rams-Saints game, that eventually led to the NFL deciding that offensive and defensive pass interference calls, or no-calls, can be reviewed. Coaches can challenge the ruling, and in the final two minutes of either half, it can go to booth review.

Top five moments from the Minnesota Vikings season

Now that Vikings fans have had some time to think about the season, here are the five best moments.

Cousins-Rudolph go-ahead connection against the Broncos

We all remember the pass from Kirk Cousins to Kyle Rudolph against the Saints — and that play is definitely on here, don’t worry — but Vikings fans shouldn’t forget about another key connection between the two that kept the Vikings undefeated at home through November. Down 23-20 against the Broncos, Cousins rolled out to his left and found Rudolph with daylight ahead of him. Rudolph made the catch and sealed what was an impressive comeback by Minnesota.

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3 Vikings’ offensive players who need to step up in 2020

Here are three players who need to step up in 2020 if the Vikings have a chance of making a run for a Super Bowl.

The Vikings’ offense had a solid 2019 season, but it wasn’t enough to get over the hump against the 49ers in the playoffs.

Here are three players who need to step up in 2020 if the Vikings have a chance of making a run for a Super Bowl.

C, Garrett Bradbury

The 18th pick in the 2019 NFL Draft was somewhat of a disappointment as a rookie.

He finished with a Pro Football Focus grade of just 57.6, a mark that ranked 30th of 38 graded centers.

Given Bradbury’s work ethic, a natural progression should come in his second season. That could go a long way to improve the team’s offense now led by Gary Kubiak.

TE, Irv Smith Jr.

This isn’t a knock on the 2019 second-round pick at all. He was pretty solid as a rookie, finishing with 36 catches for 311 yards and two touchdowns. I would expect Smith to get more reps as a pass catcher in his second season. There’s a good chance Smith replaces Kyle Rudolph as the team’s main pass-catching tight end.

WR, Chad Beebe

This spot could really go to any receiver with hopes of being WR3 on the depth chart behind Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs.

The team will surely sign a free agent and/or draft a receiver to compete for this spot as well.

Please not Laquon Treadwell.

For Beebe, he’s a player who has shown potential but hasn’t been able to stay healthy in his two-year career.

It will be a big year for Beebe, 25, financially, too. He’ll be a restricted free agent at the end of the season.

NFL fans are wondering why George Kittle was called for pass interference and Kyle Rudolph wasn’t

Not exactly consistent.

The San Francisco 49ers had a huge play they needed to put themselves in field goal range late in the second quarter of Super Bowl 54, with Jimmy Garoppolo uncorking a long pass to his dependable tight end George Kittle that he caught.

But a flag came out for offensive pass interference, wiping out a chance to take the lead before halftime. Kittle was called for pushing off on his Chiefs defender.

On Twitter, fans were quick to talk about Kyle Rudolph, the Minnesota Vikings tight end who definitely wasn’t playing in this game, but who had caught the playoff game-winning touchdown for the Vikes last month in a win over the New Orleans Saints. Former NFL officials thought Rudolph should have been called for offensive PI then.

Here are the comparisons:

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Kirk Cousins on Kyle Rudolph pushing off against the Saints: ‘I don’t believe he did’

SportsPulse: We went one-on-one with Kirk Cousins to ask if he thinks he had his best season yet and if Kyle Rudolph pushed off.

SportsPulse: We went one-on-one with Kirk Cousins to ask if he thinks he had his best season yet and if Kyle Rudolph pushed off.

Vikings’ free-agency watch: Tight ends

The Vikings have another decision make regarding Kyle Rudolph.

Under contract:

There’s a pretty big group under contract here, starting with starters Kyle Rudolph and second-year player Irv Smith Jr.

Tyler Conklin returns for the third year of his rookie contract.

The team also signed Brandon Dillon to a futures deal.

Free agents:

David Morgan will be a free agent. While Morgan has been a fan favorite for his ability to run block, he missed the entire 2018 and five games the season prior. It seems unlikely he’s back with the Vikings given their depth, unless one of these guys is gone. Bringing us to . . .

Potential Cap Casualties:

By all accounts, Rudolph had a solid 2019 season. He was big in the team’s run blocking scheme and finished with six touchdowns.

But Rudolph is due $8 million next season and the Vikings can cut ties with him for a $5.8 million penalty. It will certainly be a talking point again this offseason, much like it was last offseason.

He’s projected to be the sixth-highest paid tight end in 2020. While Rudolph is great for the locker room and community, that contract is hard to justify.

Rudolph hasn’t caught as many passes, but he’s been a TD machine

More than 16 percent of Rudolph’s catches have turned into touchdowns.

Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph wasn’t as big of a part of the team’s passing game this season.

Including the playoffs, Rudolph has just 43 catches for 398 yards. Those numbers are signficantly down from his 64 catches and 634 yards last season.

With the team’s new zone-blocking approach, Rudolph has been used more and more as a blocker, and to his credit, he’s done so without complaining.

Rudolph, however, is finding the end zone at an extremely high rate. He has caught seven touchdowns, most recently the game-winner against the Saints.

That means that 16.3 percent of Rudolph’s catches have turned into touchdowns. That’s the second-highest mark of Rudolph’s career. Back in 2012 he caught nine touchdown passes, one every 16.9 percent of receptions.

A big part of this has to do with Rudolph’s size. At 6’6, teams are limited in how they cover him in goal-line situations, especially when he lines up wide.

If the Vikings get in the red zone on Saturday against the 49ers, keep an eye on Rudolph. There’s a pretty decent chance Kirk Cousins will be looking his way.

WATCH: Vikings TE Kyle Rudolph turns eBay mishap into children’s hospital fundraiser

Kyle Rudolph and a Vikings fan have turned a disappointing story into a positive one.

Kyle Rudolph and a Vikings fan have turned a disappointing story into a positive one.

On Wednesday, the Minnesota tight end tweeted that he’d been duped by a media member in the visitors’ locker room Sunday in New Orleans:

Jason King, the Vikings fan who purchased the gloves on eBay, responded to Rudolph’s tweet and said he would “gladly” donate to a charity of Rudolph’s choice.

The tight end has worked with the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital throughout his time with the Vikings, so Rudolph sent him in that direction:

At the time of this post’s publication, a crowdfund set up through the children’s hospital has received upwards of $35,000 in donations, with the fundraising goal set for $50,000.