EAGAN http://www.newyorkjetsteamonline.com/trevon-wesco-jersey , Minn. (AP) —with Kyle Rudolph despite their lack of salary cap space, and the ninth-year tight end sure didn’t want to leave.No matter the tricky nature of making the numbers work for both sides, the mutual desire to keep the team’s longest-tenured offensive player in place was the driving force behind a four-year contract extension Rudolph signed on Tuesday with the Vikings .“I’ve bumped into a few people in the last week or so, and that was probably the number one question I got: ‘How’s Kyle? Is Kyle going to be here?’ And every one of them, when I said, ‘Yeah,’ were all glad,” coach Mike Zimmer said. “That’s the kind of guy he is in the community and how he represents the Vikings.”Rudolph had entered the final year of his current deal with a $7.25 million non-guaranteed salary, putting him at risk for being released after the Vikings drafted Alabama tight end Irv Smith Jr. in the second round.Making a rookie the primary player at that position would have been a big burden on Smith, though. As last season proved, the Vikings need to give quarterback Kirk Cousins as many options in the passing game as possible after wide receivers Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs drew heavy attention during the second half of the schedule.“I want to be a part of the first team to win a championship here,” Rudolph said. “We got a taste of it two years ago. When we got close, you had a feel for how important that would be to this state, to this community, to this fan base.”The exhaustive work by Vikings executive vice president of football operations Rob Brzezinski and Rudolph’s agents, Brian Murphy and Camron Hahn, produced a contract with a value of $36 million in new money and a little more than $16 million in total guarantees. After a conversion of base salary to signing bonus that reduced Rudolph’s cap hit, he’ll make a fully guaranteed $9 million this year. By almost any measure of contract value, Rudolph will be among the five highest-paid players in the NFL at his position.“It was easy for me to come out here and just focus on football Alexander Mattison Jersey , because I had two agents that I trust and I play for an organization that I trust,” Rudolph said after the team’s first practice of a three-day minicamp.Rudolph, a two-time Pro Bowl pick who had 64 receptions for 634 yards and four touchdowns in 2018, has remained a key cog in the offense though never quite reaching the levels of productivity of peers such as Rob Gronkowski, Travis Kelce, Zach Ertz, Greg Olsen or Jason Witten have over the duration of his career. He is second among tight ends in Vikings history in catches and yards. Having played in every game over the past four seasons, Rudolph has a streak of 65 consecutive games started that is a franchise record and the longest active run by a tight end in the league.“I feel better now from a physical standpoint at 29 than I did at 21,” Rudolph said. “You just learn how to take care of your body.”The native of Cincinnati and product of Notre Dame has spoken often about how at home his family has felt in Minnesota . He’s a two-time nominee for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award for community service .“There’s a reason why I had no interest in testing free agency,” Rudolph said. “It’s because of the culture that they’ve established around here, and culture is what ultimately brings championships. In this league, the talent level is so even across all 32 teams, and if you don’t have good culture then you don’t have a chance.” The Lions and Bears showed their coaches the door. Bruce Arians of the Cardinals found it himself. And Vance Joseph of the Broncos remained gainfully employed despite enduring the sort of season that doesn’t go down well in Denver. What is traditionally the NFL’s biggest day for firings, ”Black Monday,” started with a flurry when Detroit canned Jim Caldwell and Chicago did the same to John Fox, both before noon. ”Today is the tough part of our results-oriented business,” said Fox, whose team went 14-34 and finished last in all three of his seasons in Chicago. He and Caldwell, who went 36-28 in four seasons but didn’t win a playoff game http://www.minnesotavikingsteamonline.com/dru-samia-jersey , joined Jack Del Rio of the Raiders and Chuck Pagano of the Colts, whose owners didn’t even wait until the calendar turned, choosing to sack them after their games Sunday. But that was it. Arians, who has been dealing with health problems, including a bout with kidney cancer, announced he was leaving Arizona, though that was widely expected. In a teary news conference, the 65-year-old Arians called his stay in Arizona, which included 49 victories over five seasons ”a great ride.” Sporting his trademark cap and toying with his grey goatee, Arians said an eye opener came over the summer when his wife told him his son, Jake, was soon to turn 40. ”It hit me like a ton of bricks, that I missed all that time,” Arians said. ”That’s the culture. I probably wouldn’t change anything.” Joseph, a rookie head coach who oversaw a 5-11 season that included an eight-game losing streak, was on the hot seat. But his boss, John Elway, slept on it and decided to keep Joseph and not begin a search for the team’s fourth coach in five years. ”We believe in Vance as our head coach,” Elway tweeted . ”Together Daniel Jones Jersey , we’ll put in the work to improve in all areas and win in 2018.” The Marvin Lewis situation in Cincinnati – well, it’s complicated. Lewis completed his 15th season with the Bengals, and conventional wisdom held that he might not be asked to return. He met with owner Mike Brown on Monday, but no conclusions were reached. Lewis said the decision was more complicated than management simply asking him back, and that the owner and the front office need to be on the same page. The five vacancies (six counting the Giants, who fired Bob McAdoo earlier in December) naturally triggered a flurry of speculation about which assistant coaches might be moving on to take over the teams. Panthers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks confirmed that the Colts, Lions and Giants had asked him to interview. Patriots coordinators Josh McDaniels and Matt Patricia were, as usual, on a number of lists, and Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz was considered one of New York’s top candidates. Maybe most intriguing was the prospect of Jon Gruden leaving the broadcasting booth and returning to the Raiders. ESPN reported that Raiders owner Mark Davis was trying to lure Gruden back to the sideline with an offer that could include an ownership stake. In Houston, Texans general manager Rick Smith said he would leave the team for at least a year while his wife, Tiffany, fights breast cancer. There had been speculation that coach Bill O’Brien might lose his job, though it appeared O’Brien would stay on. Smith dismissed the notion that he and O’Brien don’t get along, saying they have a great working relationship. ”We continue to do that and that’s another reason why this is a decision that I can make,” Smith said. —