The New York Giants are in Cleveland, Ohio this week, participating in joint practices with the Browns. The Giants and Browns will play each other on Sunday night as the NFL enters the second week of the preseason. Among the players not expected to participate in practice is newly-signed Giants tight end Kyle Rudolph.
In this year’s free agency period, the Giants went on an exciting spending spree. They upgraded their offense significantly with the acquisitions of wide receiver Kenny Golladay and tight end Kyle Rudolph. Both of these players were rehabbing injuries earlier that offseason, but the Giants felt comfortable making the signings anyway.
Back in July, Kyle Rudolph told the media that he “won’t miss any football.” Well, the veteran tight end has missed quite a bit of football already and seems to be in danger of missing a significant portion of the regular season.
Could Kyle Rudolph end up on the PUP list in the regular season?
Kyle Rudolph is not the only Giants player dealing with an injury during training camp. However, many of the injured players are participating in practice, working on the side of the field. Kyle Rudolph is not one of those players that are participating. This could indicate that the rehabbing tight end is nowhere near ready to return to football.
The Giants agreed to sign Rudolph to a two-year $12 million contract this offseason after the veteran missed the final four games of the 2020 season with a foot injury. Contracts are finalized after a player passes a physical. When the Giants conducted their physical, they acquired more information on Rudolph’s foot injury. They had the chance to alter the contract but chose not to and signed Rudolph to the original deal.
“We honored the agreement because our doctors were confident Kyle would be fine following the procedure.” – Giants GM Dave Gettleman on Tuesday via NY Post
If Kyle Rudolph remains on the PUP list when the regular season begins he will miss at least the first six games of the year. Considering he was not supposed to miss any football at all, the level of concern is heightening. Rudolph has not participated in any football yet and the regular season is just weeks away. There seems to be a good chance that the Giants could start the season without Kyle Rudolph on the active roster.
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