Two-time Pro Bowl TE Rudolph retires from NFL

Two-time Pro Bowl tight end Kyle Rudolph has retired after a 12-year NFL career spent mostly with the Minnesota Vikings.

He told NFL reporter Jordan Schultz that he will retire as a member of the Vikings and will be honored by the organization around their Week 3 game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

“Can’t wait to come back home! @Vikings #Skol,” he posted on X.

Can’t wait to come back home! @Vikings #Skol https://t.co/v1qL4pHHvx

— Kyle Rudolph (@KyleRudolph) September 4, 2023

Rudolph, 33, caught 482 passes for 4,773 yards and 50 touchdowns in 165 career NFL games (145 starts). Most of those receptions (453), yards (4,488) and touchdowns (48) came in a Vikings uniform. The Vikings drafted him in the second round in 2011 and he made the Pro Bowl in 2012 and 2017.

Rudolph confirmed with NBC Sports that he will be moving into broadcasting and will work as a Big Ten analyst for Peacock and co-host a Sunday night show on Fox Sports radio this fall.

“I played for so long and earned a veteran status,” Rudolph told NBC Sports. “Now I’m a rookie getting as many reps as I can in the media world. This offseason is about, ‘Where do I fit in?’ The NBC job doing games on Peacock is cool. And talking about the storylines of the day in the NFL on Sunday nights will be cool, too.”

Rudolph played one season each with the New York Giants (2021) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2022) following a decade in Minnesota.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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