Two-Time Pro Bowl Tight End Announces Retirement From NFL

Kyle Rudolph played for the Minnesota Vikings for 10 of his 12 NFL seasons.

By Brian Jones

A veteran tight end will no longer play in the NFL. Kyle Rudolph recently spoke to NBC Sports and revealed that he retired from the NFL this spring after 12 seasons. It will be announced this week that the 33-year-old will co-host a show on Fox Sports Radio on Sunday nights from 8 to 11 p.m. ET. Rudolph will also cover Big Ten games for Peacock every Saturday. 

"I played for so long and earned a veteran status," Rudolph said. "Now I'm a rookie getting as many reps as I can in the media world. This off-season 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 was gearing up for a 13th NFL season. But the reason he decided to start his retirement now is he has twins in the first grade and two kids under 5. Ultimately, Rudolph wanted to tackle the next chapter in his life.

Rudolph was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft after playing college football at Notre Dame. He was with the Vikings for 10 seasons and was named to the Pro Bowl twice during that time (2012, 2017). In 2021, Rudolph signed a contract with the New York Giants and finished the year with 26 receptions for 257 yards and one touchdown. He was released by the Giants in March 2022 and signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in July of that year. In his final NFL season, Rudolph caught three passes for 28 yards and one touchdown in nine games. 

Earlier this year, Rudolph talked about his former teammate Tom Brady announcing his retirement. "You know it was just incredible being able to go to work with him every day," Rudolph said, per Fox News. "Certainly, when I came down here this season, I had hoped to catch a lot more than just one touchdown pass from Tom. But to be able to have his last regular-season touchdown pass, to just be a part of the 1/99th of the guys he threw touchdown passes to throughout his career, it's pretty special." Rudolph finished his NFL career with 482 receptions, 4,773 yards and 50 touchdowns. 

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