Eagles lock up Josh Sweat to 3-year contract extension originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Eagles on Saturday locked up defensive end Josh Sweat, signing him to a three-year contract extension that lasts through the 2024 season.
The three-year extension is worth $40 million, up to $42 million and includes $26.92 million guaranteed, Sweat’s agent Chris Coy of Vanguard Sports Group confirmed to NBC Sports Philadelphia.
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Sweat, 24, was a fourth-round draft pick in 2018 and after a tremendous training camp seems poised for a breakout season in 2021. He is in the final year of his rookie contract and is getting paid just $920,000 this year.
His APY of $13.3 million over the three-year extension makes him the 22nd highest-paid edge rusher in the league, according to OverTheCap. If Sweat has the kind of breakout season the Eagles are hoping for, he could end up being a steal at this price.
Sweat was once a five-star recruit out of high school but suffered a major knee injury that has followed him. But apparently the Eagles aren’t too worried about it. Sweat has consistently gotten better in his three years with the Eagles. He basically had a redshirt season in 2018 but had four sacks in 2019 and six in 2020.
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He wasn’t a starter in Week 1, but Sweat played 39 snaps, six more than Derek Barnett, who started the game.
Barnett, a first-round pick in 2017, is playing this season on his fifth-year option. This extension for Sweat could mean Barnett isn’t back in 2022.
This is the second straight Saturday with an extension for a 2018 draft pick. Last week, the Eagles signed left tackle Jordan Mailata to a $64 million extension. The big one left from this draft class is second-round pick Dallas Goedert.
But the contract extensions for Mailata and Sweat are consistent with the Eagles’ plan. They got extensions done early for players who might end up being worth way more. And they prioritized the lines.
Recently on an episode of Takeoff with John Clark, former Eagles defensive end Chris Long raved about Sweat.
“There’s nobody as talented as Josh Sweat on that D-line,” Long said. “If he weren’t injured, he’d be a top five pick. I haven’t seen more than a handful of guys get off the rock like that. Or kind of bend the corner the way he does, the way he’s able to dip and damn near touch … Robert Quinn. He’s the closest thing I’ve seen to Robert Quinn from a talent standpoint that I’ve played with. That’s rare ability.”
If Long and the Eagles are right about Sweat, then this contract will be more than warranted.
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