Kyle Rudolph officially came off the open market on Monday when he signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Rudolph inked a one-year deal to go play with quarterback Tom Brady as the former chases his first Super Bowl.
Rudolph himself confirmed that Brady was recruiting him to Tampa Bay before Rob Gronkowski announced his retirement last month.
“He was like, ‘Look, we don’t know what Rob’s going to do at this point, but regardless, we need you down here,'” Rudolph said.
Rudolph will team up with Cameron Brate to be Tampa Bay’s top two tight ends this season. The former spent the 2021 season with the New York Giants and racked up 26 receptions for 257 yards and a touchdown.
Before that, Rudolph spent 10 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings and was one of their most reliable playmakers. In five of those 10 seasons, Rudolph finished with 500 receiving yards or more.
He’ll look to do the same with his new team starting on Sept. 11.