It has been a tumultuous offseason for Minnesota Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph, whose contract standoff with the team resulted in a whole lot of trade speculation.

But ultimately, Rudolph ended up signing a four-year, $36 million contract extension to remain in Minnesota for the foreseeable future, and Rudolph says there was never any other option:

“It was extremely important to my wife, Jordan, and me,” Rudolph said on SiriusXM NFL Radio. “Quite frankly, our only objective in this was to stay here in Minnesota. This is home for us. We want to stay here. We know how important it is to this fan base and the state of Minnesota to bring that first championship here, and now my sole focus is on that – just playing my roles on this team to the best of my ability and going out and trying to lead this team to a championship.”

Rudolph is coming off of a 2018 campaign in which he played all 16 games and hauled in 64 receptions for 634 yards and four touchdowns.

The 29-year-old, who played his collegiate football at the University of Notre Dame, was originally selected by the Vikings in the second round (43rd pick overall) of the 2011 NFL Draft.

Since then, Rudolph has gone on to become one of the most consistent players on the Vikings roster, making a couple of Pro Bowl appearances.

“Two years ago, when we made a run to the NFC Championship game, we all got a taste of what a championship would mean to not only this organization and all the players, coaches and staff, but what a championship would mean to the state of Minnesota and Vikings fans all around the world,” Rudolph said. “For me, that’s the unfinished business. I want to be part of the first team that wins and brings a championship here to the state of Minnesota and the Vikings organization.”

The Vikings went 8-7-1 in 2018.