Tight finish Kyle Rudolph is the latest participant on the Bucs roster. It comes proper in time for coaching camp at a place the place the Bucs really want a lift.
Rudolph has achieved quite a bit in his profession. However after a decade with the Vikings and one yr with the Giants final season, the coveted Tremendous Bowl championship is the very last thing on his to-do checklist that he must verify off.
That’s why the Bucs had been a part of a really small checklist of groups that Rudolph put collectively when selecting the place he’d play subsequent. He spoke about it with Mike Golic, Jr. on the GoJo podcast.
Unique Locations
“I bear in mind reaching out to my agent and principally despatched a really, very, very small checklist,” Rudolph mentioned. “At this level in my profession, I’m not going 4-13 once more. I need to go to a bonafide winner, a group that may compete for a championship and normally together with that comes a Corridor of Fame-caliber quarterback. These issues appear to sort of go hand in hand. The checklist was quite a bit shorter this yr than final yr.”
“For me at this level, the one factor I’ve left to do is win a championship. I’ve achieved all the pieces else that you possibly can probably do on this recreation from a person standpoint from playoff video games, playoff wins, Professional Bowls – I had three contracts. I’ve achieved all the pieces you are able to do besides make it to the massive one and win it. That’s actually all that I’ve left and the one purpose that I’ve going into this season.”
Mutual Teaching Connection
It’s not the primary time {that a} participant like Rudolph was intrigued by taking part in with Tom Brady. Nonetheless, these gamers have each identified one another for fairly some time. They had been linked up collectively via a mutual coach – Charlie Weis. As offensive coordinator of the Patriots, Weis helped Brady win the primary three Tremendous Bowls of his profession. He was additionally the top coach at Notre Dame for Rudolph’s first two school soccer seasons.
Due to their mutual connection collectively, they turned aware of each other. Acquainted sufficient to the purpose the place Brady was truly trying to recruit Rudolph to the Bucs as early as final season earlier than it culminated this yr.
“We had truly sort of began speaking a bit of bit final yr,” Rudolph mentioned. “They had been actually set within the tight finish room in Tampa final yr, they’d three actually good ones, so there was no want for me to go down there, however I bear in mind saying to him, ‘I do know that you simply acquired extra than simply this yr. Hopefully I can come down there and play with you in some unspecified time in the future.’ We sort of all the time stayed in contact after which this spring rolls round and free company sort of acquired going and I talked to him on the cellphone a pair months in the past. He was like, ‘Don’t know what Gronk’s going to do, however we want you down right here anyhow.’ He undoubtedly performed an enormous half within the determination that I made to go down there.”
Greatest Of Each Worlds
This offseason was a extra preferrred match for Rudolph and the Bucs. Final yr the tight finish room was stacked. This time round it’s Brate and rookies Cade Otton and Ko Kieft. It made extra sense to hitch Tampa in his second free company run with an opportunity to show extra.
“Early on it was, ‘I’d like to go to Tampa to play with Tom, to play on a group that you understand they’re going to compete for a championship,’” Rudolph mentioned. “However Gronk’s nonetheless there, Cam Brate for my part is likely one of the most underrated tight ends within the NFL. The dude simply places up strong numbers yr after yr after yr irrespective of who the quarterback was earlier than Tom acquired there. And definitely with Tom the final couple years. However it was simply, ‘I’ll be one other rotational man,’ and that’s nice since you’re taking part in on a group that’s competing for a Tremendous Bowl and at this level in my profession, that’s the primary purpose. That’s what I need to do.
“My second purpose this offseason was discovering a spot the place I acquired a bit of little bit of juice left and I can nonetheless play. This now provides me each of these alternatives as a result of there may be such an enormous void with O.J. Howard leaving in free company to the Payments and Gronk retiring. That room simply had Cam Brate and a bunch of younger guys.”
Watch the total interview with Rudolph on the GoJo podcast with Mike Golic Jr. right here.
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