Kyle Rudolph has been the Vikings’ top tight end for nearly the entire decade, but Minnesota was eyeing a complementary weapon.
The Vikings discussed acquiring Rams tight end Tyler Higbee last year, Ben Goessling of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports (on Twitter). The teams did exchange offers, the Rams wanting a sixth-round pick but the Vikings offering a seventh-rounder, per Goessling, who added that the talks broke off shortly after.
A three-year Rams supporting-cast cog, Higbee was a 2016 fourth-round pick. He and 2017 second-rounder Gerald Everett comprise Los Angeles’ tight end corps, with Everett being used more as a receiver. Higbee finished this regular season with 24 receptions for 292 yards and two touchdowns.
Minnesota has Rudolph signed through the 2019 season, but no guaranteed money (and a $7.25 million base salary) remain on the 29-year-old pass-catcher’s contract. No Vikings backup tight end caught more than 11 passes this season.
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