Vikings TE Kyle Rudolph not interested in pay cut: 'I'm worth every dime'

Many NFL players will soon feel the effects of a smaller 2021 salary cap due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. One of those players is Minnesota Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph. 

The 31-year-old has not been the same player since the 2016 campaign when he had a career-high 840 yards. With the 2020 season now over for Minnesota, Rudolph could be asked to take a pay cut or he'll be released. 

Rudolph believes he's still worth the price of his contract, telling the "Unrestricted with Ben Leber podcast" that he's not interested in taking a pay cut. 

"Obviously, I'm realistic. I see both sides," Rudolph said, according to Courtney Cronin of ESPN. "If I were [team owners] the Wilfs, if I were [general manager] Rick [Spielman], I'm looking at this situation like, 'Hey, we're paying this guy a lot of money and you're not using him, so why are we continuing to pay him a lot of money?'

"With that being said, I think I'm worth every dime of my contract. That doesn't mean that I'm used to my potential and I'm used to do what I do well, so it will be interesting over the next few months. Like I said, I have three years left on my contract. I don't want to go anywhere else. I've somehow become a pretty decent blocker because I've been forced to. It certainly wasn't something that I ever did well at any point of my career. Maybe in high school because I was bigger than everyone else, but even then, I just wanted to run around and catch balls."

Rudolph has three years remaining on his contract, with a cap hit of $9.45 million in 2021, $10.25 million in 2022 and $11.65 million in 2023. The Vikings would save $5.1 million if they cut him this offseason.

During the 2020 campaign, Rudolph had just 28 catches for 334 yards and a career-low one touchdown. Quite frankly, it's not surprising the Vikings want to go with a cheaper option. 

Irv Smith Jr. was more productive this season, catching 30 passes for 365 yards and five touchdowns. With more production and a lower price tag, he's the more reasonable option for Minnesota.