Report: Bucs “Involved” With Kyle Rudolph
July 14th, 2022
Free agent TE Kyle Rudolph.
UPDATED 6:44 p.m. – This makes all the sense in the world.
Joe has been adamant that it would be highly unlikely for Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht, in what is likely Tom Brady’s final season, to go to war in a Super Bowl-or-bust season with only one tight end who has ever caught a pass in the NFL.
(No, Joe is not counting camp meat Codey McElroy.)
Well, in the wake of foot-rubbing Rob Growkowski reaffirming his retirement, Licht is not standing pat. Per BSPN insider Jeremy Fowler, Licht has been talking to free agent tight end Kyle Rudolph.
Again, this makes too much sense. You know Brady wants another veteran to go along with Cam Brate.
Hey, Cade Otton is a nice story and may someday be an excellent tight end. Maybe this year. But guess how many passes Brady has thrown to Otton in an organized practice?
Same number of passes Brady has targeted to Joe.
Rudolph, 32, caught 26 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns last season in 16 games for the miserable Giants. That was his first team following a strong 10-year career with the Vikings, including Pro Bowl seasons in 2012 and 2017.
Is Rudolph washed out? That’s unclear. But Bucs fans might remember when former Pro Bowl tight end Dallas Clark played out his career in Tampa back in 2012. He caught 31 balls for 343 yards and three touchdowns.
Those aren’t Gronk numbers, but the Bucs might be good with that from Rudolph if the other weapons are humming.
Tom Brady is no stranger to new tight ends. In 2014, Brady won a Super Bowl with Bucs castoff Tim Wright, who hauled in six touchdowns — 6! — from Brady during that regular season.
Free agent tight end Kyle Rudolph has interest from multiple teams ahead of training camp. The #Bucs have been involved, I'm told, and a reunion with the #Vikings is not off the table. This situation should crystallize some time before camps open.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) July 14, 2022
July 14th, 2022 at 6:29 pm
Nice! I feel it’s acouple serviceable TE’s out there we could use. But Brate is a sneaky good TE
July 14th, 2022 at 6:30 pm
“Sane” number of people who died from covid alone. Accuracy isn’t important though
July 14th, 2022 at 6:37 pm
give tommy b what he needs…
pay gronk out the azz, and he will be back…
he’s holding out for a fat paycheck…
hit the man off lovely…rn
July 14th, 2022 at 6:40 pm
Rudolph is washed. Don’t sleep on Otton. I think he might be the best from this current draft class
July 14th, 2022 at 6:41 pm
it’s the low offers the bucs have made him that have affected his health…
his mental health…
toss him what the “best tight end ever” deserves for one last big season and the man will come back…
it simply might be a matter of paying the man…
just like season 23 with tommy b is gonna be 50 mil or he’s walking out the door, and trust me on this, when he leaves, he’s “taking the culture with him”
July 14th, 2022 at 6:47 pm
if the glazers let tommy b walk off after this season it will be another “belichik x kraft x fiasco” situation in tampa…
the idea is once tom moved on from the pats, after their big mistake up there, you let him finish his career with the bucs…
the glazers gotta somehow make that happen…
and they gotta take care of the gronkinator, because that’s his right hand man…
every great “playa” has a wingman, if you know what i mean 🙂
July 14th, 2022 at 6:53 pm
Just
Do
It
July 14th, 2022 at 7:03 pm
Tim Wright!!! What a flashback.
July 14th, 2022 at 7:07 pm
It’s got NOTHING to do with money ! It’s not like the Bucs were paying Gronk chump change , $10 mil + incentives that he reached ! And he’s like Brady and Evans, they would rather take less money to get better players around them ! They have all made their money. Brady doesn’t want $50 mil to come back for his (24th) season cuz he knows he will have nobody to throw the ball to ! Unlike the selfish, crybaby himself into the MVP last year Aaron Rodgers. And Aaron wonder’s why they can’t seem to win come playoff time , cuz he’s taking up a quarter of the cap space HIMSELF ! GO BUCS
July 14th, 2022 at 7:20 pm
The Buc interest reflects the slim pickings on the TE free agent marketplace. I hope this interest is a feint, and the actual plan is signing or trading for a more impactful receiving option.
July 14th, 2022 at 7:20 pm
If the guys, Brady and Gronk, are unrestricted FA’s, you can hope to get compensatory picks should they go elsewhere. And since Gronk was when he retired, I don’t see how we could hope for anything else.
Rudolph may have one more good year. And as was the case with Clark, that would be about all we should need him for.
July 14th, 2022 at 7:29 pm
At least they are looking!
July 14th, 2022 at 7:35 pm
Can’t have enough vet multi pro bowl TEs right now with the rookies.
July 14th, 2022 at 7:52 pm
He was my fist choice ,go get him !!!!
July 14th, 2022 at 7:55 pm
Lets Go Buccaneers
He was my first choice
Go get him?
July 14th, 2022 at 8:44 pm
Gronk is the man
But we cant wait on a part time TE
Find a player and LFG
July 14th, 2022 at 9:06 pm
Thank goodness.
July 14th, 2022 at 9:22 pm
His numbers vs Saints are great…sign him
July 14th, 2022 at 9:45 pm
Serviceable is the perfect word, I can easily see Otten taking away snaps from him if he’s signed
July 14th, 2022 at 9:49 pm
Rudolph is the obvious easy and conservative option. At least he would be serviceable if he stays healthy, and hold down the job to see if Otton/Kieft have what it takes to play at all. Rudolph would likely work well with Brady, and as a former pro bowler, he knows how to do it, but he is not an exciting TE at this stage, and more of a placeholder and mentor.
I am perhaps more intrigued with the outlaw Jesse James, who is younger, more willing to do the tough blocking and trenchwork, and may be a bigger factor with a top QB. Go look at his film when he played with Roethlisberger.
The biggest deal they could make would be a trade for Dalton Shultz, if they could pull that one off. But would they have drafted Otton if they were interested trading for a top tier TE like that who would be established for years? (Even if they were still waiting for Gronk, whose shelf life was known to be short anyway)
Mike Gisecki is in a similar situation with Miami as Shultz in Dallas. But Gisecki doesn’t block.
July 14th, 2022 at 10:02 pm
Jared Cook had much better numbers last year. Almost double and he knows the Saints playbook. I’d go for the more productive player. Rudolph may be washed up.
July 14th, 2022 at 10:08 pm
Cook, Graham or Ebron before Rudolph.
July 14th, 2022 at 10:13 pm
We may want to pick up another WR and go 3WRs and less 12 personnel – I think the Bucs will just go with an extra lineman as the 2nd TE in the 12 personnel.
Go Bucs!
July 14th, 2022 at 10:32 pm
Can rudolph block ?
July 14th, 2022 at 11:05 pm
Someone you can sign without giving up capital who can block. This offense needed to be modified to feature the TE anyway. Too bad OJ couldn’t recover from his Achilles.
July 14th, 2022 at 11:08 pm
Washed…completely. In the name of Todd Yoder & Patrick Hape…
July 15th, 2022 at 6:02 am
Jesse James.
July 15th, 2022 at 6:22 am
See what Brady can do with the rookies in training camp, and THEN see if the need is that critical and who else is available. Maybe Gronk gets healthy all of a sudden.
July 15th, 2022 at 9:47 am
I would be in favor of it. But we might have to give up Ondrej Palat….
July 15th, 2022 at 6:55 pm
It seems he’s the best one out there, maybe Jared Cook. Rudolph is halfway decent at blocking, Cook is horrible at blocking and older. I would definitely take Rudolph. He didn’t put up the numbers Cook did last year but look where the two of them played.
Besides, they don’t need him to put up big numbers. Between him, Brate, and the rookie, it would be plenty enough to take pressure off the outside and provide some TE targets in the red zone.
Any way you look at it, the big farm boy rookie TE looks destined to get some playing time as a blocker
July 16th, 2022 at 5:36 pm
What about the rookies we Drafted .