“He’s A Tight End’s Tight End”
July 21st, 2022
Joe is not hearing any moaning about general manager Jason Licht’s fresh signing of 12th-year veteran tight end Kyle Rudolph.
In fact, Joe’s heard the opposite — a lot of love for the move.
Former Pro Bowl receiver Ed McCaffrey, a three-time Super Bowl winner with the Broncos and Giants, is a big fan of the Rudolph signing.
Speaking on SiriusXM NFL Radio this morning, McCaffrey noted that the rich get richer and the Bucs are the type of team that is very attractive to free agents of Rudolph’s stature.
“When I think of tight ends, right, he’s a tight end’s tight end. You know what I mean? Like a 6-6, 260-pound guy,” McCaffrey said. “This is a dude. He can block in the run game; he can catch.
“He can give them a dimension that Rob Gronkowki gave them in terms of being a blocker in the run game and in protections, and is a really reliable target at tight end. Big body, strong hands. He makes them a little bit better and he fills a need.”
McCaffrey went on to rave about how Rudolph is a “relevant blocker” and how the Bucs just recovered legitmate two-tight-end sets with the Rudolph signing, as he can line up with established TE Cameron Brate.
Joe won’t pretend Rudolph makes up for the loss of Rob Gronkowski, but he should be a hell of a fit if he’s not Richard Sherman washed out.
10 Year Anniversary Party: Saturday, July 30th. pic.twitter.com/aX4TStqjfQ
— Big Storm Brewing Co (@BigStormBrewing) July 21, 2022
July 21st, 2022 at 5:30 pm
Sounds like a lot income with the type of TE Otton is , should be a great mentor for the rookie as their body type and athleticism are similar. Otton has legacy football in his family. Strong TE room now with the calvary still on R&R and it’s unclear if he’ll be needed.
July 21st, 2022 at 5:31 pm
In common
July 21st, 2022 at 5:55 pm
Google his highlights. Not first video offered but second (cause i think first one limited to last year )
Joes had good article on who gets more tds without gronk
Watch the tape. The guy has so many tds near goal line. I mean td after td is within 5 yard line. Thats where he is needed cause you have 3 wrs making 10 mil for the rest of the field to make plays. I think he is 6 6 260-265 ish. He is a huge target w good hands. Who can also block decent enough
He has close to 50 career tds. Look who he got them from :
Christian Ponder (13)
Kirk Cousins (11)
Sam Bradford (8)
Case Keenum (7)
Teddy Bridgewater (6)
Matt Cassel (2)
Joe Webb (1)
Daniel Jones (1)
Those are not good qbs. Sorry. Cousins is ok but lets be honest. Will never win anything that matters in playoffs or super bowl.
Go bucs. He is no gronk but none are. Gronk is 33’. Rudolph 32 i believe
July 21st, 2022 at 5:59 pm
He was a good tight end, once. We hope he will return to what he once was.
Not everything I am reading about him is positive.
When the Vikings signed Rudolph in 2019, he was three years past his high-water mark as a receiver. Only once did he surpass 634 receiving yards in a season — when he had 840 in 2016. By the summer of 2019, Rudolph had settled into his new role — occasional receiver and red-zone target and decent but hardly dominant blocker.
The Vikings overvalued him, perhaps out of sentiment. He had 634 receiving yards in 2018. After he signed the deal, he totaled 367 and 334 yards receiving in 2019 and 2020. Rudolph being a quality human being is not equivalent to him being worthy of his salary, or his dead cap hit.
July 21st, 2022 at 6:23 pm
I’m done with your site and all the posts on here i swear all y’all do is complain about everything, very happy i don’t know anyone, how do you live so negatively? goodbye and good luck life is to short to be so negative
July 21st, 2022 at 6:23 pm
Story broke on Florio’s site today that Cowboys have just announced a throwback helmet not worn for 10 yrs to be worn on Thanksgiving. Since nothing’s been written here I have to ask how they can accomplish this when it was reported that even though allowed by league rules for ’22, the soonest the Bucs can do it is ’23 because of “supply chain issues.”
This may be our only chance to see TB12 in Bucco Bruce (pretty cool) and the Bucs can’t get it done? Then how is it the Cowboys announce TODAY they they’ll get it done by Thanksgiving?
July 21st, 2022 at 6:54 pm
Bye scott
July 21st, 2022 at 7:30 pm
You know why they say Scott. Don’t go away mad, just go away.
July 21st, 2022 at 7:32 pm
@Ludicrous Speed
Same for the Patriots. They recently announced that they will be wearing their classic throwback red and white jerseys this season. I hope this isn’t the glazers being cheap hacks…
July 21st, 2022 at 7:35 pm
To be fair, Scott is not wrong. I’ve lived in the markets of Dallas, Denver, New York, & near Buffalo and for some reason Tampa Bay has some of the worst pessimistic negative fans. It’s crazy.
Anyway, people are complaining because they expected them to find the next Gronkowski or a Kelce suddenly.
They got the best TE in the draft and the best free agent… What the hell else can they do? They literally did the absolute best they could with the position
July 21st, 2022 at 7:35 pm
So is this McCaffrey guy a tight end specialist? A proctologist wanna be? Has he ever placed his hands under center? And was Scott complaining about all of us complaining? Bet Scott never actually played sports. Any team locker room I ever spent time in was far from subtle when it came to wize cracks. Pun intended. Anybody who played a lot of team sports knows dam well how sick the locker room humor was. And it got worse when we hit a bar for some cold brewskies afterwards. Getting old sucks. Wish I could go back in time.
July 21st, 2022 at 7:57 pm
Scott aint wrong bunch of complaining know it alls typical today nfl’s missing out on some of you bill polians
July 21st, 2022 at 8:11 pm
So David I guess you never lived in Philadelphia. They booed the home team. They even booed the cheerleaders. Then they got into fist fights with each other!
July 21st, 2022 at 8:12 pm
Our TE room is solid now. Two experienced vets, two rookies, plus a couple of UDFAs with some ability for the practice squad.
July 21st, 2022 at 8:17 pm
Wild Bill……….Who are you to question Ed McCaffery?
Dude forgot all of the rudimentary offenses you have already learned.
July 21st, 2022 at 8:23 pm
Haha did I ever say I have a great memory. Sitting here in the cheap bleacher seats I reserve the right to say something stupid now and then. Or more often. What were talking about?
July 21st, 2022 at 8:28 pm
I like it.
Don’t let the door knock you to the floor, Scott.
July 21st, 2022 at 8:30 pm
Scott
How do you know you don’t know anybody…….they could be your next door neighbor……dating your Daughter or Wife…..your pastor, psychiatrist…..pharmacist, boyfriend or landscaper….
How do you know?
July 21st, 2022 at 8:31 pm
Ed played really good ball . He also had strong hands and he knows his effin foozball. He played with a guy named sharp and has seen his son turn into a hell of a back when healthy of course . Some fans are dead right on here , the bucs did actually a great job ! Got brady back , that gets Jenson and playoff Lenny back. Then your corners are healthy and Davis is back and you have hicks, gage ” great move ” & they draft how they needed to and then say ok gronk , we will leave the door open but we are getting a vet to go with brake and the rooks we are high on . Great job tampa bay and as a lifer bucs fan , I am extremely happy with how Jason and others have gotten us to this point. It is awesome !
July 21st, 2022 at 8:33 pm
I’ll just say Tampa fans got a taste with a Super Bowl win and then literally nothing for 2 decades.
I agree that too many Tampa fans easily turn to the dark side and EXPECT a bad outcome.
I think the last 2 years the coaches have proven they can draft, coach, and put a winning team on the field.
I for one fully expect the best version of Gage, Mason, Ryan, Neal, Hicks and now Rudolph.
Look at Randy Moss for instance. Before he joined the Patriots he had 3 seasons where the media were talking about a decline. He had in the neighborhood of 750, 1000 then like 550 and 13, 8 and 3 TDs respectively.
Then he goes to play with Brady and 900 more yards and get this, 20 more TDs than the prior year.
#1 TB makes every player better.
#2 Rudolph wants to win a SB.
Quit the nagging and get excited for the POSSIBILITIES.
July 21st, 2022 at 8:33 pm
And what is a rudimentary offense? I was always a polite athlete. Never was rude to anyone. Almost. Well maybe sometimes. Did get into a few fights though. But that was always good for a few laughs after the game.
July 21st, 2022 at 8:44 pm
Watched some of Rudolph’s mic’d up games and I can totally get why Licht picked this guy up. Very vocal, calling out chip/block assignments with OLmen, encouraging Daniel Jones, congratulating and pumping up the defense on between kickoffs and punts. There was a point in a game the Giants were playing Carolina and he got a TD called back because he stepped out, no ego, encouraged his guys to “go kick the door in” for the lead. Idk where he is in terms of what he can still do physically, but from a personality stand point he’s a Jason Licht type of guy in my opinion. We’ll see what he’s got, idk how hard it is from the TE position to digest our offense, but I’m sure Brady and the guys will do whatever to get him up to speed.
July 21st, 2022 at 8:49 pm
Scott ain’t going away, he’s just gonna change his name. Like goatfarmer use to be maybe Medicated Pete?? If not I’m sure the two have partied together.
July 21st, 2022 at 9:12 pm
David, they may not have gotten “the best TE in the draft”. The Gronk waiting game prevented them from prioritizing higher ranked prospects. Otton is an unknown with “promise” and an injury history.
Same problem with FA. They waited and waited and missed on a number of TEs with more in the tank than Rudolph. He wasn’t “the best TE in FA”, although you could make the argument that he was the most reasonable option in this 11th hour. I’m not convinced that Jesse James couldn’t have been signed for even less, and provided a younger, fresher option, and more physicality and upside. I really wanted to see a creative move made for a legit TE1, but again, too late and other teams may not have been willing to entertain trade offers.
Frankly, I’m most optimistic about Kieft, already a sledgehammer of a blocker, who has also show promise as a receiver in underwear practices. I’m pulling for Ko to surprise everyone.
July 21st, 2022 at 9:18 pm
Cross your fingers that Rudolph will at least be a 2019 Jason Witten, a decent contributor just prior to retirement.
July 21st, 2022 at 10:03 pm
Rudolph is a solid pickup . Works hard at blocking , has the size, soft hands and appears to be a great teammate .
July 21st, 2022 at 10:24 pm
“Well……………Bye”
July 21st, 2022 at 10:36 pm
I guess Scotty does in fact “know”
……..what we all know.
Scotty is a lil’ biotch.
July 21st, 2022 at 10:44 pm
Rudolph is a true pro. He has played in the Pro Bowl multiple times and is a 12 year vet, exactly what they needed in the TE room. He will not only perform on the field but will teach the rookies what it means to be a professional football player and a good teammate. They will probably run more and lean on the WR’s and RB’s more in the passing game. Before Gronk we didn’t prioritize TE’s in the offense and we will probably go back to that. They will be involved but not as the first option. Maybe not the second option either. Cade Otton will have the opportunity to showcase his skills and Rudolph will be a TE1.
July 21st, 2022 at 11:16 pm
I already miss Scott.
Wait who TF is Scott?
July 21st, 2022 at 11:59 pm
The good, the bad and the ugly on Rudolph:
Good: great guy on and off the field, best hands and catching ability in football, smart and reads defenses well, still a credible red zone threat.
Bad: below average blocker.
Ugly: Not much left in the tank. No speed.
July 22nd, 2022 at 1:00 am
Brady signed off on Rudolph. Guarantee he’s already got “Ruuuuuuuuuuuuudlf” on a speed/quickness regimen.
July 22nd, 2022 at 5:39 am
Your looking for everything in one player. Get the most at of what he’s got left. Tight end by committee this year. Everyone helps. GOBUCS!
July 22nd, 2022 at 7:49 am
How about the impact he can have as a mentor to Cade Otton.
July 22nd, 2022 at 8:53 am
Thank you Scott–plenty of good comments were born from you.
Suh.
July 22nd, 2022 at 10:03 am
He’s a lost step’s lost step.
Actually, this is fun:
He’s a butcher’s butcher.
He’s a proctologist’s proctologist…
July 22nd, 2022 at 11:31 am
Rudolph will have the best year of his career this year
July 22nd, 2022 at 7:40 pm
Yo, Wild Bill! So you have the right to say something stupid and you continually do. Now that you have again, STF UP!