Kyle Rudolph retires after 12 years in NFL

Two-time Pro Bowl tight end Kyle Rudolph officially announced his retirement as he plans to continue his path into the media world.

Rudolph told Peter King of NBC Sports this past weekend that he decided to step away after 12 seasons in the NFL.

“I played for so long and earned a veteran status,” Rudolph said. “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.”

2x Pro Bowl TE Kyle Rudolph tells me he’ll officially retire as a member of the Minnesota @Vikings organization.

Rudolph says the #Vikings will honor around their Week 3 game against the #Chargers. Should be a very special weekend for Kyle and his family. pic.twitter.com/IFMfhGBX72

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Rudolph said that he was thinking about a 13th NFL season, but decided, with four young children, it was time to move on with his post-NFL career.

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.