New York Giants tight end Kyle Rudolph passed his physical and returned to practice on Wednesday. The 31-year Rudolph had been on the physically unable to perform/active list since training camp after undergoing foot surgery in the spring.
Rudolph, who spent the first ten years of his career in Minnesota, signed with the Giants in March after being released by the Vikings.
I feel good,” Rudolph said after his first practice. “It was exciting to be back out there with my teammates. For me, this was the first football I’ve gotten to play since December. I’ve still got a long way to go, a lot of work left ahead, but this is what I love to do. The last few months have been tough just watching each and every day, but I’ve got to give a ton of credit to our medical staff, our trainers, our doctors. Here I am today back at practice, and it felt damn good.”
The two-time Pro Bowler was a big fan of Giants QB Daniel Jones from a distance and can’t wait to play with the third-year quarterback.
“It’s been awesome to watch him,” Rudolph said of Jones. “I was a huge fan of his from afar. Obviously, we came up with the Vikings a couple years ago, and our defensive guys just raved about his talent. Now, getting to know him as a player and as an individual, his leadership ability, guys gravitate towards him, and that goes a long way, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Continuity is huge, and we all rally behind Daniel.”
Rudolph worked on individual drills on Wednesday, and Giants head coach Joe Judge expects Rudolph to do increasingly more.
When asked if he is confident that he will be ready for Week 1, Rudolph said the following:
“I’m just going to keep working each and every day to make sure that I’m continuing to progress the way I have for the last five months,” he said. “Like I said, two weeks from now, we’ll look up and see where we’re at.
The Giants continue their second day of joint practices with the New England Patriots on Thursday.
