The Patriots locked up left tackle Nate Solder to an extension earlier today, but Solder is unlikely to be the last notable player to sign a new contract this week. With regular season openers right around the corner, teams will be looking to wrap up negotiations with key extension candidates, getting something done with them before the real games begin, since many of those players won’t want to continue talks during the season.
Here’s the latest on a few noteworthy extension candidates:
- The Eagles are no longer engaged in discussions regarding a short-term extension for Sam Bradford, according to Ed Werder of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The two sides were exploring a bridge deal that would give the former first overall pick some security while still allowing him to hit free agency in a couple years. However, it appears Bradford’s preseason success has made him less enthused about signing a below-market deal at this point.
- Jordan Raanan of NJ.com reported earlier this week that the Giants and Eli Manning were making progress on an extension, and Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News hears the same thing, writing that there’s optimism a deal can be reached “relatively quickly,” though there’s still some work to be done.
- Contract talks between the Bills and defensive lineman Marcell Dareus have continued, a league source tells Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News (Twitter link). There were indications in August that Dareus and the Bills were far apart in negotiations, but the team still hopes to get something done by Sunday.
- The Jets would like to get their own standout defensive lineman, Muhammad Wilkerson, locked up to an extension, but it’s unclear whether something will happen this week, tweets Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com. A July report indicated that Wilkerson would play out the final year of his current contract if he and the Jets can’t finalize an agreement by the start of the regular season.
