Wasting no time locking up their key players the Minnesota Vikings and Carolina Panthers extended two of their star players with long-term contracts Monday. Vikings safety Harrison Smith and Panthers center Ryan Kalil both signed extensions.
For Smith, one of the most unheralded at his position, made his first Pro Bowl last season. Last year Smith had 47 tackles, 1.5 sacks, one forced fumble, three passes defended, two interceptions and one defensive touchdown and that’s after missing three games due to injury. In a 16-game season in 2014, Smith had 71 tackles, a forced fumble, nine passes defended, five interceptions and one defensive touchdown. In fact, Smith has scored a touchdown in three of his four professional seasons.
Vikings Harrison Smith agrees to a 5yr extension, worth $51.25M, becoming the highest paid safety in the league pic.twitter.com/EzonW7MVwQ
— NFL Retweet (@NFLRT) June 6, 2016
Reportedly Smith’s extension is for five years and $51.25 million with a $10 million signing bonus and $15.27 million guaranteed. Smith was a first-round pick out of Notre Dame in 2012 and actually played locally in my neck of the woods for Knoxville Catholic in Knoxville, Tenn.
For the Panthers, Kalil has been one of the best players at his position in the league since they drafted him out of USC as a second-round pick in 2007. After starting just three games his rookie season, Kalil took over the center position for the Panthers for good in 2008. With the exception of an injury-shortened 2012 season, he’s been the linchpin in the Panthers’ line for nearly a decade.
The #Panthers have signed @ryankalil to a two-year contract extension!
More Info » https://t.co/EmYddkprPQ pic.twitter.com/gGWARFnhvu
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) June 6, 2016
Kalil’s extension is for two years and reportedly will pay him $16.75 million with $13 million guaranteed. Kalil has made the Pro Bowl five times and a first-team All-Pro last season.
“Ryan is still playing at an extremely high level and was very deservedly an All-Pro again in 2015,” Panthers General Manager Dave Gettleman said in a release. “The other part of this is that Ryan is a great leader. In 2014, he was instrumental in keeping that offensive line group together. That group had a lot of young players and there were moving parts because of injuries, but Ryan helped them maintain their confidence, and that was a big part of us winning five of our last six games.”
Pierre-Paul has different Fourth of July plans this season
Last year celebrating the birth of our nation New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul nearly lost his right hand and NFL career in a fireworks accident In 2016, love of America aside, he’s taking no chances.
Pierre-Paul told reports Monday that he won’t even be in the country on July 4, saying “I won’t tell you. Where I’m going they don’t celebrate the fourth of July… I’m just leaving man, I’m just living my life… I just wanted to get out of the country.”
.@Giants' Jason Pierre-Paul learned his lesson last summer: No fireworks this July 4th https://t.co/JUUQLdztK7 pic.twitter.com/iKdU3wBsSF
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) June 6, 2016
Pierre-Paul still managed to be disruptive in the backfield when he finally came back for the Giants last season, but the huge club he had wrapped around his right hand hampered his tackling ability. This year Pierre-Paul won’t wear the club, telling reporters last March, “I’m not going to wear the club next year. My hand is perfectly fine.”
Pierre-Paul is playing under a one-year, $10.5 million deal with the Giants this season. Last year he played in eight games, recovered two fumbles, recorded one sack and 21 tackles with six passes defended.
Cook won’t be ready until training camp for Packers
Newly acquired free agent tight end Jared Cook won’t get to work on the details of the Green Bay Packers offense at least until July. Last week he underwent foot surgery that should cost him all the Packers’ organized team activities at least until training camp begins.
No long-term concern for TE Jared Cook; WR Jeff Janis makes a big play.
OTA recap 📰: https://t.co/qsWQTVBJSt pic.twitter.com/yNIQNipVC2
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) June 6, 2016
The 6-foot-4, 235-pound tight end spent the last three seasons with the then St. Louis Rams, but was cut before the team made the trip to Los Angeles. Signed to be a big-time weapon in the passing game from the Tennessee Tutans in 2013, Cook never produced numbers that were worth the nearly $8 million a year he made from the Rams in that span. Los Angeles cut him in February.
The Packers, though, could be just what Cook needs to do to recognize the potential his physical abilities seem to show. He signed a one-year, $2.75 million contract with the team as a free agent.
