The Bengals officially announced Tuesday that they have agreed on a five-year contract extension with defensive end Carlos Dunlap.
The extension, which Mike Florio of PFT reported on Monday afternoon, will kick in after the 2013 season and will pay Dunlap $40 million if he makes it all the way through the 2018 season with the team under the current deal. The timing of the deal came as a bit of surprise because all eyes were on the franchise-tagged Michael Johnson leading up to Monday’s deadline for Johnson to sign a multi-year deal with the team, but coach Marvin Lewis said it was part of the plan all along.
“One of our key offseason goals was to continue signing and extending our key players, and the signing of Carlos is another positive step,” Lewis said in the team’s release about the deal. “Over his three seasons with us, Carlos has continued to progress and develop. He has demonstrated the ability to be productive as a three-down player, and we are glad to have him committed to be a part of our future.”
It’s expected that defensive tackle Geno Atkins will be next in line for an extension as Cincinnati works on locking up their essential players. Johnson, on the other hand, looks like a strong candidate to hit unrestricted free agency after the 2013 season thanks to the Dunlap deal and the coming need to extend quarterback Andy Dalton and wide receiver A.J. Green.