The New England Patriots reportedly have locked up one veteran defender for another season and reworked the contract of another.
The Boston Globe’s Ben Volin reported Sunday, citing a source, the Patriots had signed defensive end Rob Ninkovich to a one-year contract extension through 2017 and restructured safety Devin McCourty’s deal, which runs through 2019.
The details of Ninkovich’s extension, which ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss also reported:
Source: #Patriots have signed DE Rob Ninkovich to a 1-year extension thru 2017. Now playing on a 2-yr, $4.27m deal
— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) September 11, 2016
For 2017, Ninkovich has a $1m salary (gtd for injury only), $400k in per-game bonuses, $100k workout bonus, $500k incentives. Max value $2m
— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) September 11, 2016
And McCourty’s restructuring:
Source: #Patriots restructured Devin McCourty’s deal on Fri. Converted $3.74m of base salary into signing bonus. Created $2.8m of cap space
— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) September 11, 2016
The $3.74m signing bonus decreases McCourty’s 2016 cap number from $7.9m to $5.1m, and adds $935k to his cap numbers each year in 2017-19
— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) September 11, 2016
Ninkovich was suspended for the first four games of this season after testing positive for a banned substance. He’ll serve the first game of that suspension Sunday night when the Patriots visit the Arizona Cardinals in their season opener.
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
