The Eagles and safety Malcolm Jenkins have agreed to terms on a new five-year contract, the team announced today in a press release. Jenkins had been set to enter the final year of his current deal, but the new extension will keep him under team control through the 2020 season, tweets Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
[RELATED: Nerdy Football previews the Eagles’ offseason]
Jenkins, who signed a three-year, $15.5MM contract with the Eagles in 2014, quickly turned into one of the best bargains on the roster. In his two seasons with Philadelphia, the ex-Saint has only missed a total of seven defensive snaps, appearing in more total plays than any other player during that time. That huge snap count can be attributed both to Jenkins’ durability and to former head coach Chip Kelly, whose offensive style resulted in the Eagles’ defense seeing the field more than any other team’s D.
In his two seasons with the Eagles, Jenkins has averaged 92 tackles per season, grabbed five total interceptions – including two for touchdowns – and earned his first Pro Bowl nod in 2015. Pro Football Focus ranked him as the league’s second-best safety in ’15, behind only Harrison Smith of the Vikings.
Based on his performance in Philadelphia so far, Jenkins figures to be in line for a nice raise on his new deal. He had been set to earn a base salary of $5MM and a roster bonus of $500K in 2016, with a total cap hit exceeding $7MM. The extension may slightly reduce that cap figure, depending on its structure, but a bump to an average annual salary of at least $8-9MM seems probable. Nerdy Football’s Connor Byrne recently pointed to Devin McCourty‘s five-year, $47.5MM contract as a potential comparable for Jenkins’ next deal.
Jenkins’ contract is the latest extension in what has been an offseason full of them for the Eagles. The team has already locked up Zach Ertz, Brent Celek, Vinny Curry, and Lane Johnson to new deals, and is said to be working on an extension for Fletcher Cox as well.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
