“I played for so long and earned a veteran status,” Rudolph told King. “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 told King he’d planned on playing a 13th season but decided, with four young children, it was time to move on with his post-NFL career.
A second-round pick by the Vikings in 2011, Rudolph spent his first 10 seasons in Minnesota. He played 2021 with the New York Giants and nine games in 2022 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In 12 seasons, the tight end generated 4,773 yards and 50 TDs on 482 catches.