I'm pretty sure I came close to inadvertently sabotaging the Kyle Rudolph contract negotiations this past weekend. I had no knowledge that the Vikings would be announcing a five-year contract extension with the big tight end Sunday when I asked offensive coordinator Norv Turner just how good Rudolph could be. I prefaced my question -- posed during his Saturday afternoon media availability -- with the common observation that he has previously coached a lot of successful tight ends. I merely wanted to get his initial impressions on how Rudolph stacked up with the likes of Antonio Gates, Jay Novacek or Jordan Cameron.
Had Turner raved: "He could be better than all of them" or "Rudolph has the ability to be the best tight end in the NFL," just think how Rudolph's agents might have reacted! "Did we say $36.5 million? Norv thinks he's the best… let's make that $40 million!"
Okay, so my little question really didn't come close to meddling with or completely derailing the last-second deliberations between the two sides. But the answer coach Turner gave was a little surprising nonetheless.
Turner submitted that Rudolph "has worked as hard as anyone in this organization and he is getting himself ready to have a great year." That's not exactly the same as, "We think Kyle can be a perennial All-Pro" or "He's right there with Jimmy Graham as the best in the business." Coach Turner was very measured with his praise and went on to outline the fact that Rudolph needs to improve on the mechanics of his route-running.
"The way he has been running routes has been the stop and change direction, a lot moves at the top of routes, cutting, stopping to cut. We try to keep him on the move a little bit more with a quicker change of direction, running out of breaks as we say, not turning and looking for the ball because we know where the ball is going to be placed."
This isn't Turner's first rodeo. He's done the training camp thing a time or two before. Needless to say he understands the concept of keeping players motivated. Rudolph isn't a finished product. He has stuff to work on. The millions the Vikings threw at him suggest, however, that they think he's on track to be among the best at his position in the NFL.
Having Turner as his coach certainly doesn't hurt his chances. Norv has worked with aforementioned stars like Gates and Novacek and heavily utilized Cameron last year in Cleveland. To wit, Cameron was targeted 118 times, third-most among tight ends, caught 80 passes (again third-most), for 917 yards (second-most) and seven touchdowns. Beyond that, coach Turner has wrung every ounce of talent out of pedestrian tight ends such as Freddie Jones and Doug Jolley and slightly-above pedestrian-level talents such as Eric Johnson and Randy McMichael.
Rudolph is in a good position, and he knows it. He's noted more than once that he wants to be the best tight end in the NFL. He'll have a hard time attaining such a status as long as Jimmy Graham stays healthy and keeps the tight end (rather than wide receiver) label. He'll also have a tough time surpassing Rob Gronkowski if the oft-injured party boy finds a cocktail which includes a magical elixir that keeps him on the field and off Injured Reserve.
