The clock was ticking on the period for teams to sign their franchise tagged players to an extension, and while doing this is not a requirement by any means, the Falcons wanted to get it done with their defensive tackle Grady Jarrett.
The two sides put pen to paper on a four-year, $68 million contract this afternoon, according to many reports including that of ESPN’s Adam Schefter. (Schefter had heard yesterday the two sides were in talks.)
Another deadline deal: Falcons and DT Grady Jarrett reached agreement on a four-year, $68 million deal, sources tell ESPN. Falcons beat deadline and lock up their DT.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 15, 2019
Jarrett had been vocal about getting a new deal. He skipped most of Atlanta’s offseason activities, but it’s worth noting he and wide receiver Julio Jones were both present for the team’s mandatory minicamp last month.
After 49ers kicker Robbie Gould signed his extension this morning, Jarrett and Texans linebacker Jadeveon Clowney were the only franchise tagged players who had yet to sign an extension. (Gould joined Donovan Smith, DeMarcus Lawrence, Frank Clark, and Dee Ford on the list of tagged athletes who did sign extensions.) Now, of course, with the Jarrett signing, Clowney is the only player who will play under the franchise tag in 2019.
Jarrett, who is due to earn $17 million annually (average) is now in the higher ranks for defensive tackles, joining Fletcher Cox ($17.1 million) in the same area but still falling shy of Aaron Donald’s whopping $22.5 million AAV. Jarrett is now NFL’s third-highest-paid interior defender.
Although Jarrett has yet to don a Pro Bowl uniform in four seasons in the league, he has shown promise on the defensive side of the football. While only having 14 sacks to his name, Jarrett posted an impressive 15 tackles for loss in 2017 and was a PFF top-10 interior defender in 2018, when he picked up six sacks and 16 quarterback hits.
