The minute that reports started bubbling to the top of sports tickers that the Minnesota Vikings and Kyle Rudolph were coming closer to a divorce, it didn't take long for folks to speculate the New England Patriots as a possible landing sport for the Pro Bowl tight end. After all, the reining Super Bowl champions are left with a Rob Gronkowski-sized hole to fill on the depth chart after the generational talent elected to retire earlier this offseason.

But, up until now, the talk about Rudolph catching passes from Tom Brady in 2019 were almost exclusive to Madden and fantasy football.

Well, Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer is breathing new life into that subject as he briefly notes in his latest Monday Morning Quarterback piece that New England and Minnesota have talked about the possibility of a Rudolph trade.

That's as far as Breer goes with it, but it is the first actual report that links to the two clubs together outside of mere speculation. Minnesota was reportedly taking calls on Rudolph at the NFL Draft, but the teams involved were not disclosed. It should be emphasized that Breer didn't report that anything is close between the two sides, simply that a discussion of sorts was had between the two sides regarding the tight end.

The Patriots have brought in the likes of Ben Watson, Austin Sefarian-Jenkins and Matt LaCosse to help cushion the blow of Gronkowski's retirement. While those tight ends are a solid foundation to replenish the position, a potential addition of Rudolph would get New England back to an elite level at that spot.

The reason why the Vikings are drawing close to a split with Rudolph isn't because they dislike the player or he's falling off in any regard on the field. Instead, it simply has to do with the salary cap. Minnesota currently has their backs against the salary cap wall. By moving on from Rudolph, who is set to be a free agent at the end of this season, they'd clear about $7.6 million in cap space.

When recently asked about possibly taking a pay-cut, Rudolph told reporters, "No way. I'm too young for that."

With that in mind, the Vikings have a decision to make. They could either try and trade Rudolph for pennies on the dollar or simply cut bait with him, clear the cap space and allow him to sign with whomever he wants. Last season, the 29-year old was able to total 64 catches in 2018 for 634 yards and four touchdowns. He's also not far removed from the 2016 campaign where he was targeted 132 times and hauled in 83 receptions for 840 yards and seven touchdowns.

For the Patriots, they would have to do some cap maneuvering of their own to try and bring Rudolph in via trade. With Rudolph on the block, that could make the contract talks with Tom Brady and his current $27 million cap hit more urgent or they could simply run the risk and wait for Minnesota to potentially release him and try to sign him as a free agent without giving up any draft capital.

Whichever way they want to attack it, there still is one big fish out there for the Patriots to try help smoothen the transition into the post-Rob Gronkowski era.