Vikings Place Kyle Rudolph on IR, Sign Guard Kyle Hinton to Active Roster

Rudolph, the Vikings' longest-tenured player, may have played his last game with the team.

The Vikings have placed veteran tight end Kyle Rudolph on injured reserve, officially ending his season. It was always highly unlikely that he would play in a meaningless Week 17 game after missing the past three contests with a foot injury, so this is more of a formality than anything. To fill his roster spot, the team has signed practice squad guard Kyle Hinton to the active roster.

The #Vikings have signed G Kyle Hinton (@BigMyke_Hinton) to the active roster and placed TE Kyle Rudolph on IR. pic.twitter.com/majYykQJBS

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) December 29, 2020

We've known this was a possibility for a couple weeks now, but this may mean that Rudolph has played his final snap in a Vikings uniform. The 2011 second-round pick is the team's longest-tenured player and an important figure in the Twin Cities community, so that would be sad news. But the reality of the business side of things is that Rudolph's numbers have been down for the past two seasons and his contract will continue to pay him like a top-ten tight end for the next three seasons.

Coming off of a 634-yard season in 2018, Rudolph signed a four-year, $36 million contract extension in June 2019 that ran through the 2023 season. That was a curious move given the timing; the Vikings had just drafted his eventual successor two months earlier in Irv Smith Jr. from Alabama. Rudolph's 367 yards in 2019 were his fewest in a full season since his rookie year. This year, in his tenth NFL season, the 31-year-old finished with 334 yards and a career-low one touchdown in 12 games.

With Smith trending upwards as he enters his third season next year and Tyler Conklin establishing himself as a solid No. 2 option in recent weeks, Rudolph may end up being a necessary cap casualty. The Vikings would create $5.1 million in cap space by cutting him prior to June 1, though they would take on $4.35 million in dead cap space. After June 1, releasing Rudolph would create $8 million in cap space with just $1.45 million in dead money.

A restructured deal could also be a possibility for Rudolph, who remains a threat in the red zone and a good blocker but has clearly lost a step athletically. His 48 receiving touchdowns in the regular season rank fifth in franchise history.

Hinton being signed to the active roster is an interesting move. It would be nice to see him get the start at left guard against the Lions in place of Dakota Dozier, who has been one of the worst offensive linemen in the NFL this season. Hinton, a seventh-round pick out of Washburn this past April, is a highly athletic guard prospect. In my opinion, it's worth seeing what he can do in order to start the evaluation prospect on Hinton heading into 2021.

The Vikings did the same thing with starting Oli Udoh at right tackle last Week 17 against the Bears, although that didn't end up leading to any snaps for Udoh this season. It's possible that signing Hinton was just about preventing another team from snatching him off the practice squad this week, like what happened to wide receiver Alexander Hollins, who was poached by the Browns.

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