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Various teams handed out extensions this week. Last Friday was the deadline for players to sign multi-year deals or instead play under the franchise tag. Von Miller, Muhammad Wilkerson, and Justin Tucker were able to avoid the franchise tag and sign new deals with their teams. Alshon Jeffrey, Kirk Cousins, and Eric Berry were among the few to not reach an agreement on long term deals. A couple of suspensions were handed down due to violations of the NFL's Substance Abuse Policy, along with a few smaller transactions being made.
Here is a look at the few moves that were made this week, as well as my thoughts down below.
Suspensions:
- DE Aaron Lynch was suspended four games for violating the NFL's Substance Abuse Policy.
Green Bay Packers
Signings/Waivers/Options:
- Signed RB Brandon Ross.
Carolina Panthers
Signings/Waivers/Options:
- Signed DB Leonard Johnson.
Released/Waived:
- Cut DB Shaq Richardson.
Dallas Cowboys
Released/Waived:
- Cut CB Brandon McGee.
Philadelphia Eagles
Released/Waived:
- Cut DT Derrick Lott.
Denver Broncos
Signings/Waivers/Options:
- OLB/DE Von Miller agreed to a 6-year contract extension.
Oakland Raiders
Signings/Waivers/Options:
- CB David Amerson agreed to a 4-year contract extension.
Baltimore Ravens
Signings/Waivers/Options:
- Re-signed K Justin Tucker to a 4-year deal.
Buffalo Bills
Suspensions:
- RB Karlos Williams was suspended four games for violating the NFL's Substance Abuse Policy.
New York Jets
Signings/Waivers/Options:
- Re-signed DE Muhammad Wilkerson to a 5-year extension.
My Thoughts
- Von Miller earned himself a 6-year $114.5M deal with $70M guaranteed. He deserves every penny of it and right now is the perfect opportunity to pay him since they aren't having to invest heavily in the quarterback situation. Von is arguably the best defensive player in the NFL along with J.J. Watt, so this amount of money doesn't feel unjustified. If Paxton Lynch can perform well on his rookie deal then keeping Miller on this deal will keep the Broncos in Super Bowl contention for the next three to four years.
- Muhammad Wilkerson's extension was overshadowed this week due to Miller's deal, but retaining Wilkerson is just as important to the Jets as retaining Miller was to the Broncos. Wilkerson's deal is worth $86M with $53.5M guaranteed over 5 years. Wilkerson's play backs up his worth; he registered a career high 69 combined tackles and 12 sacks last year. Keeping Wilkerson on a good defensive line that is just entering its prime has to be exciting for Jets fans.
- I really liked Oakland's re-signing of CB David Amerson. After an unsuccessful start to his career in Washington, he dramatically turned things around last year with the Raiders. grabbing four interceptions to go along with 54 tackles. It can be argued that Amerson is the number one cornerback going into Oakland's camp this year, until they can get a feel for what Sean Smith can provide them.
- The Miller and Wilkerson deals, like Olivier Vernon's before them, show what the Seahawks are going to have to pay when Michael Bennett's contract runs up. It'll be interesting to see what John Schneider does when you consider the money Bennett can earn on the open market and if Seattle will want to overspend for a player in his early 30's.