Buccaneers Sign Rob Gronkowski's Replacement Following Retirement Announcement

By Brian Jones

Rob Gronkowski has retired from the NFL, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have found his replacement. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Buccaneers are signing tight end Kyle Rudolph to a one-year contract. He will be a new target for Tom Brady while also being paired with tight end Cameron Brate who caught 30 passes for 245 yards and four touchdowns in 2021. 

Rudolph, 32, spent the 2021 season with the New York Giants after spending 10 years with the Minnesota Vikings. In his only season in New York, Rudolph caught 26 passes for 257 yards and one touchdown. He was released from the team in March after his contract was restructured in December. At the start of the 2021 season, Rudolph spoke to reporters about playing for the Giants after spending a decade with the Vikings. 

"I'd be lying to you if I'd knew what my role was each and every week in Minnesota, as well," Rudolph said, per the Giants' official website. "That's the nature of our position. When you go into a game, you may catch 10 balls. You may not catch a single ball and you may be in pass protection. You look at the team that we're playing and the two guys that they have on the edge, I can guess what my role's going to be for most of the game. But at the same time, you just have no idea and that's part of the beauty of the tight end position. You have to be locked in on every play because our role is in all three phases of the game – run, pass and protection."

Rudolph was selected in the second round by the Vikings during the 2011 NFL Draft. He made his first Pro Bowl in 2012 after recording 53 receptions for 493 yards and nine touchdowns. Rudolph made the Pro Bowl again in 2017 after catching 57 passes for 532 yards and eight touchdowns. He finished his career with the Vikings with 4,448 receiving yards which ranks 10th all-time in team history. Gronkowski retired for the second time in his career in June. He leaves the game as one of the all-time greats as he was named to Pro Bowl five times, the All-Pro First Team four times and won four Super Bowls. 

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