There hadn't been much in the way of news on the contract front for Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Mike Daniels prior to Monday. Daniels and the team were said to be tabling talks in August, but it seems the desire to remain together was too compelling as Daniels and the Packers, fresh off a victory over the Dallas Cowboys, have reportedly come to an agreement on a four-year contract extension.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reports the deal is worth $42 million and will pay Daniels $22 million over the first 15 months. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com echoed almost the exact same numbers, adding that Daniels will receive a $12 million signing bonus.
If the numbers are accurate, the contract will make Daniels the third-highest paid 3-4 defensive end in the league behind Houston's J.J. Watt and New Orleans' Cameron Jordan. Watt's deal carries a total value of $100 million and Jordan's, signed just this season, is worth up to $55 million.
Daniels is clearly a player on the rise and, as such, it was obviously a priority for Packers GM Ted Thompson to see him re-up with the team. As a former fourth-round pick, Daniels is making just $1.542 million in base salary this season.
This extension will be a major step up for a player whose game has done very much the same over the last couple of years. Daniels, undersized and without a home in the front-seven coming out of college, took a little while to establish himself as an everyday NFL player.
While Daniels doesn't play a premier position - 3-4 defensive ends are tasked with controlling a gap, so that usually means getting their hands on the man across from them, reading the play and then flowing to the ball - his production has been fantastic. Since his rookie season, his production has steadily increased every year. Through 13 games this season, he now has 41 tackles - matching his career-high - 4.0 sacks and one forced fumble. He needs 2.5 more quarterback takedowns to match his career mark there.
And while his stats aren't likely to ever come close to Watt's, Daniels has served notice to the league over the past couple of years that he's a player opposing offensive coordinators need to look out for on Sunday. He'll now spend at least the next four seasons terrorizing offenses as a member of the Packers.
