Standout LB Baker signs extension
The Miami Dolphins locked up one of the team’s top defenders on Sunday, giving inside linebacker Jerome Baker a three-year extension that will guarantee the team’s leading tackler last season $28.4 million.
Baker, a former Ohio State standout who was entering the final year of his rookie deal slated to earn $2.4 million, is now under contract until the 2024 season. If he completes the new deal he’ll receive $41.4 million for the length of the new four-year contract, according to his agent Drew Rosenhaus.
That means Baker, who contributed 112 tackles, seven sacks and forced two fumbles last season, will average $10.35 million a season.
His average-per-year makes him the fourth highest-paid Dolphins player, coming in just behind cornerbacks Byron Jones and Xavien Howard, and receiver Will Fuller, who signed a one-year deal worth $10.6 million with incentives this offseason.
Baker becomes the second member of the 2018 draft class to receive an extension. Kicker Jason Sanders signed a five-year extension worth $22 million this spring.
That leaves tight ends Mike Gesicki and Durham Smythe as the only players left from that draft class who haven’t received a contract extension from the Dolphins.
Gesicki and the Dolphins have discussed an extension, but no deal has gotten done before this week’s mandatory minicamp. And it’s unclear if one will get done before the regular season kicks off in September.
Gesicki will earn $1.38 million this season, and Smythe will earn $2.18 million, significantly more than his fellow tight end because he’s eligible for playing time raises, while Gesicki is not because he was a second-round pick.
The Dolphins also have a complicated situation with Howard, who wants to have his contract re-worked because of the salary disparity between the $12 million he makes this season, and the $14 million the Dolphins will pay Jones. Over the course of the 2020 and 2021 seasons Jones will have earned $16 million more than Howard, who led the NFL in interceptions last season.
It is unclear if Howard will attend, or participate in the team’s mandatory minicamp. His absence could result in a fine, which might further complicate the cornerback’s relationship with the franchise.
But locking up Baker sends the right message to the players on the team, showing that top players developed within the program will be rewarded.
This season Baker will likely be paired with Benardrick McKinney, who the Dolphins traded for this offseason, and Elandon Roberts, working as the inside linebacker in Miami’s hybrid 3-4 scheme while Andrew Van Ginkel, Vince Biegel and Jaelan Phillips, the former University of Miami standout the Dolphins selected with the 18th overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft, serve as the outside linebackers.
The Dolphins had the sixth-best defense in the NFL last season and will look to remain one of the NFL’s top performing defenses in 2021 despite the departure of Kyle Van Noy, Davon Godchaux, Shaq Lawson and Bobby McCain, who were all starters.
This offseason Miami added McKinney and fellow linebackers Brennan Scarlett and Duke Riley, defensive linemen Adam Butler and John Jenkins, and defensive backs Justin Coleman and Jason McCourty in free agency, and drafted Phillips and safety Jevon Holland, who are both projected to be rookie starters.