EAGAN Chris Lindstrom Jersey , Minn. 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.More Vikings coveragePreview: Cook, Vikings look to keep rolling vs. PackersTop Tweets: Vikings prepare for Packers with TMNT hype videoBarr, seasoned Vikings defense off to strong startNew offense, same Rodgers: Vikings prep for LaFleur’s PackersVikings re-sign center Jones, waive rookie TE Dillon“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 http://www.falconscheapshops.com/cheap-authentic-kaleb-mcgary-jersey , 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, 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 Kendall Sheffield Jersey , 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.” DENVER (AP) — Kirk Cousins was perfect in his cameo, and then kicked back and watched two former Broncos quarterbacks tear apart their old teammates.Cousins completed all four of his passes in the Vikings’ 42-28 exhibition victory Saturday night, including a 1-yard touchdown strike on a quick slant to Stefon Diggs .“I think it was a smooth first drive but it is a small sample size and the next couple of weeks will be a good test for us,” Cousins said.Diggs called it a good first step.“He’s a good quarterback http://www.falconscheapshops.com/cheap-authentic-john-cominsky-jersey ,” Diggs said. “He makes some great throws.”Case Keenum wasn’t nearly as sharp in his Denver debut, completing just 1 of 4 passes for 5 yards spanning two drives.“It’s just frustrating not playing well and you don’t have a chance to bounce back from it,” Keenum said.Cousins was the crown jewel of this year’s free-agent class of quarterbacks, signing an $84 million, three-year deal in Minneapolis. That meant Keenum was out two months after leading the Vikings to the NFC championship, and he signed a $36 million, two-year deal with Denver.The Broncos then traded their starter, Trevor Siemian, to the Vikings to serve as Cousins’ backup — so long as he beats out Kyle Sloter, another former Denver QB.That left Paxton Lynch and Chad Kelly vying for No. 2 duty in Denver.So, this preseason opener was filled with quarterback intrigue.After Cousins’ single series — one in which he didn’t have to face Von Miller — Siemian led Minnesota on three scoring drives, most notably a screen pass to Roc Thomas that beat the blitz for a 78-yard score .Siemian was 11 of 17 for 165 yards, two TDs and an interception against his old team.“It was a little weird for sure Qadree Ollison Jersey , but good to see old buddies,” Siemian said.Lynch, the former first-rounder twice beaten out by Siemian in Denver, was just 6 of 11 for 24 yards and an interception.“Obviously I’m upset,” he said.Despite 17 yards passing overall in the first half, the Broncos only trailed 24-14 at halftime thanks to Isaiah McKenzie’s 78-yard punt return for a TD and rookie Royce Freeman’s 23-yard TD scamper — Denver’s only first down before halftime.Just when the crowd was starting to lament losing Siemian and Sloter, in came Kelly to fire up the crowd.Kelly threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to tight end Matt LaCosse. Amid chants of “Kelly! Kelly!” he also drove Denver 85 yards in 11 plays, capping the drive with a 19-yard strike to running back Phillip Lindsay to put the Broncos on top 28-27 with 10 minutes remaining.Sloter, who was cut by Denver a year ago, responded by throwing a 9-yard touchdown pass to Chad Beebe with six minutes left to put the Vikings back on top. His strike to Jeff Badet for the 2-point conversion made it 35-28.Safety Jack Tocho picked off Kelly at the Denver 30-yard line with 5:23 left, and Sloter sealed it with a 14-yard bootleg for the score.Sloter was 9 of 11 for 69 yards and Kelly was 14 of 20 for 176.Lynch might be losing in his battle to be the backup, but he insisted he’s “excited for Chad.”“Chad’s been playing really well and he deserves that,” Lynch said. “He’s a good kid.”Broncos coach Vance Joseph wasn’t quite ready to elevate Kelly to No. 2 QB Rashan Gary Jersey , saying he had to study the film.“Obviously, Case is the starter, so that’s my main concern,” Joseph said. “Chad has played well. He played well tonight, outside of the one interception, which led to a score for those guys. He’s a guy that plays with a lot of confidence. That’s a good deal.”MCKENZIE MAGICJoseph’s faith in McKenzie finally paid off with his punt return for a score.“Huge for him,” said Joseph, who stuck with McKenzie last year despite a half-dozen fumbles. “He’s obviously a talent. His issue last year wasn’t talent. It was more decision-making. We’re helping him fix that so he can help us win games.”NATIONAL ANTHEMLinebacker Brandon Marshall and wide receiver Demaryius Thomas weren’t with their teammates on the sideline for the national anthem. They emerged from the tunnel behind the Broncos’ bench after the anthem was over.“We didn’t know about that,” Joseph said. “But it’s their right.”INJURIESBroncos S Jamal Carter (hamstring), CB Marcus Rios (hip) and TE Austin Traylor (right shoulder) got hurt.NEXT UPVikings: Host Jaguars on Aug. 18.Broncos: Host Bears on Aug. 18.