The recruitment skills of quarterback Tom Brady paid dividends anew for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after he successfully convinced tight end Kyle Rudolph to sign with the team. Rudolph revealed this during an interview with the GoJo podcast, saying that Brady started recruiting him to the Buccaneers for the 2021 season. That year, Rudolph was a free agent for the first time in his career after ten seasons with the Minnesota Vikings. But Rudolph said he opted to sign with the New York Giants because the Buccaneers’ tight end roster was loaded, led by Rob Gronkowski and Cameron Brate.
However, Rudolph’s stint with the Giants lasted just one season after he was cut following a lackluster season where he just had 26 catches for 257 yards and a touchdown. According to Rudolph, Brady called him in May and asked him to consider joining the Buccaneers. “Brady was like, ‘Don’t know what Gronk’s going to do, but we need you down here anyways,” said Rudolph, referring to Gronkowski’s uncertain future with the Buccaneers. “Brady definitely played a huge part in the decision that I made to go down there,” he added.
Rudolph signed a one-year deal with the Buccaneers days after Gronkowski announced his second retirement. Explaining his decision to join the Buccaneers, Rudolph said he’s at the point of his career that he wants to win.
“I want to go to a bonafide winner, a team that can compete for a championship,” said Rudolph, adding that winning a championship is the only thing he wants to do. With Brady as his quarterback, Rudolph is confident he could achieve his dream of winning a Super Bowl. In his ten seasons with the Vikings, he had 453 receptions for 4,488 yards and 48 touchdowns in 140 games, with 132 starts.
Bucs bring in another wideout for Brady
Aside from Rudolph, the Buccaneers brought in another weapon for Brady as they signed veteran wide receiver Julio Jones to a one-year deal. The Buccaneers’ wide receiving corps is packed with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin as their No. 1 and No. 1 receiver, respectively. The Buccaneers also signed wideout Russell Gage to a three-year deal in the offseason, But the Buccaneers need a dependable wideout in Jones as Godwin is still recovering from a torn ACL surgery.
While Godwin was already cleared for training camp, the Buccaneers are expected to be extra careful with him. Signing Jones would allow the Buccaneers to take their time with Godwin. Aside from Evans, Godwin, and Jones, the Buccaneers also have Scotty Miller, Tyler Johnson, and Breshad Perriman as receivers. In his career, Jones caught 879 passes for 13,330 yards and 61 touchdowns in 145 games with the Atlanta Falcons and Tennessee Titans.
