The Philadelphia Eagles announced a new four-year extension for inside linebacker Mychal Kendricks late on Monday. The deal will keep Kendricks in midnight green through the 2019 season. Per ESPN's Adam Caplan, the deal is worth $29 million and carries $16.4 million in guarantees.
"It feels amazing," Kendricks said, via the team's website. "All of the hard work went towards the end goal, which was to reach a second contract and now it's here. It feels really nice. I think security is a big thing, and the fact that it's done early, I can have peace of mind and just go out there and play the game that I love ... It's a special day."
Kendricks, a second-round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, is set to enter his fourth NFL season. While Kendricks is one a few holdovers from the previous regime, he has blossomed under the watchful eye of Eagles head coach Chip Kelly and defensive coordinator Bill Davis. He's on the smaller side, but he's incredibly athletic and versatile and has proven to be a playmaker.
Thus far in his career, Kendricks has amassed 333 total tackles, nine sacks, three interceptions, four forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries. He finished last season, in 12 appearances, with 83 tackles, four sacks and three forced fumbles.
Questions of Kendricks' future with the franchise swirled this offseason after Kelly traded running back LeSean McCoy for Kiko Alsono and the team brought back veteran inside 'backer DeMeco Ryans on a one-year extension. The team also drafted Jordan Hicks out of Texas in the third-round of the 2015 NFL Draft.
There was talk, prior to the draft, that Kendricks could be utilized as part of a package so that Kelly could trade up and select former Oregon pupil Marcus Mariota. That never came to fruition however and Kelly made a point to let Kendricks know early in Eagles offseason work that he wasn't going anywhere.
With the deal, Kendricks can now rest easy knowing that's the truth.
