Kyle Rudolph, the veteran tight end acquired by the Giants during his active and expensive wave of free agency spending, requires foot surgery, but must be ready to play early in the 2021 season.
While playing for the Vikings last season, Rudolph, 31, injured his foot in a December 6 game against the Jaguars. He lost the last four games, reached the open market and, after 10 years with the Vikings, agreed with the Giants on a two-year deal worth $ 12 million. Four months after his initial foot injury, he still hasn’t fully healed, which has caused a brief stumbling block in signing the contract, according to the NFL Network. The problem was resolved, The Post confirmed, and Rudolph signed the agreement, with no financial adjustments by the team.
“This is 100 percent what happened during the season that made me miss the last four games of the season,” said Rudolph on Wednesday after signing his contract. “Everyone expected it to heal on its own and it didn’t. This needs to be fixed. I am extremely grateful for the Giants’ medical team … and I’m excited to fix it and get over it.
“I don’t expect to miss any football. I am extremely excited, when we started playing football, to be there with my teammates. “
Rudolph will have $ 4.75 million in this year’s salary cap. He receives a $ 4.5 million signing bonus.
In 140 games (132 matches) for the Vikings, Rudolph had 453 receptions for 4,488 yards and 48 touchdowns. His 28 receptions in 12 games last season were his lowest output since 2014, when he played in just nine games. Rudolph is a strong in-line blocker and the Giants expect him to be a threat in the red zone, allowing Evan Engram to reduce some of his in-line blocking responsibilities to allow him to use his external speed to create situations of incompatibility.