Kyle Rudolph may not be a Viking for long. Instead, he could turn into New England’s answer for losing Rob Gronkowski.

Rudolph recently told The Minneapolis Star Tribune he wouldn’t take a pay cut to stay in Minnesota.

“I’m too young for that,” Rudolph said.

Doing so would be a way the Vikings could clear cap space — an avenue Rudolph just shut down. Rudolph, 29, became more expendable when Minnesota drafted Irv Smith Jr. in the second round of the NFL draft, leading to rampant speculation that now includes the Patriots. Gronkowski retired after helping the Patriots win the Super Bowl last season.

According to NFL Network’s Michael Giardi, the Patriots have discussed Rudolph with Minneapolis.

“He’s available and the league knows,” Giardi reported. “Can’t imagine he’ll fetch a high price.”

Rudolph carries a $7.6 million cap hit for the 2019 season, per Spotrac, after catching 64 passes for 634 yards in 2018. As for New England’s current tight end situation, Austin Seferian-Jenkins will be an excused absentee from OTAs this week, per the Boston Herald.

Seferian-Jenkins is currently expected to compete with recently signed Ben Watson for snaps.