Rodgers signs 3-year extension with Packers
Aaron Rodgers has officially signed a contract extension assuring the twotime reigning MVP will remain with the Green Bay Packers.
The Packers announced the extension Tuesday. Terms weren't released, but NFL Network reported Rodgers will make over $150 million over the next three years.
“We are very pleased to be able to come to an agreement with Aaron that keeps him in Green Bay,” Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said in a statement. “His play on the field and leadership in our locker room remain vital in our pursuit of another Super Bowl title. The agreement also allows us to maintain and enhance what we feel is already a very competitive roster.”
Rodgers, 38, had announced a week ago on Twitter that he was returning to the Packers for an 18th season but said no deal had been signed at that point. Immediately after the season, Rodgers had said he was unsure whether he would return to the Packers, request a trade or retire.
The structure of the fourtime MVP quarterback's contract is designed to help the Packers' salary-cap situation for now. According to NFL Network, Rodgers' cap hit this year would be $28.5 million, $18 million lower than it would have been without this new deal.
Green Bay entered this week about $46 million over the cap. The Packers released outside linebacker Za'Darius Smith and offensive lineman Billy Turner and extended the contract of outside linebacker Preston
Smith this week as they worked to get below the cap in time for the opening of free agency Thursday.
Now the Packers will try to work on reaching a longterm deal with All-Pro receiver Davante Adams, who received a franchise tag last week. If they don't reach an agreement by July 15, Adams' salary for the 2022 season would be just over $20 million.
Rodgers has spent his entire NFL career in Green Bay, but his future with the organization had been the subject of speculation ever since the Packers traded up four spots to take Utah State quarterback Jordan Love with the 26th overall pick in the 2020 draft.
Jaguars cut Jack to create cap space
Jacksonville followed its free-agent spending spree with a cost-saving move: cutting veteran linebacker and defensive captain Myles Jack on Tuesday.
The Jaguars created more than $8 million in salary-cap space by releasing Jack, who started 82 games over the last six seasons and will forever be remembered in franchise lore for quickly — and possibly erroneously — being ruled down following a New England fumble in the fourth quarter of the 2018 AFC championship game. Tom Brady rallied the Patriots after the call, preventing Jacksonville from making its first Super Bowl.
Dumping Jack will cost the Jaguars $4.8 million in dead money in 2022 and save them $8.35 million against the cap.
A second-round draft pick from UCLA in 2016, Jack signed a four-year extension worth $57 million in new money just before the 2019 season. But he struggled at middle linebacker and ended up moving back to weak-side linebacker the following year. He wasn't a great fit in Jacksonville's 3-4 scheme last year, either, although he led the team with 106 tackles.
Also
Younghoe Koo, who has given the Atlanta Falcons a reliable option on field goals and extra points since 2019, has signed a five-year, $25.25 million contract as an unrestricted free agent. Koo leads the NFL with 87 field goals since joining the Falcons in Week 10 of the 2019 season . ... The Broncos and defensive end Randy Gregory agreed on a $70 million, five-year contract that will prevent the Cowboys from keeping one of their top targets in free agency, a person with knowledge of the deal said. ... The Bengals re-signed defensive tackle B.J. Hill to a three-year, $30 contract. Hill was a critical player on Cincinnati's defensive line during its run to the Super Bowl last season . ... The Browns released center JC Tretter, who was recently re-elected as president of the NFL Players Association, while the team accelerated its pursuit of controversial quarterback Deshaun Watson . ... The Titans released veteran cornerback Janoris “Jackrabbit” Jenkins after one season to clear approximately $6.9 million in salary cap space before the start of the new league year . ... The Browns and Patriots have agreed to swap linebackers, with Mack Wilson going to New England and Chase Winovich headed to Cleveland.