Left tackle D.J. Humphries has signed a three-year contract extension with the Arizona Cardinals that will keep him with the team until 2025.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport first reported the deal on his Twitter account on Wednesday, August 3. He also revealed that the total worth of the deal was $66.8 million, with $21 million for first-year salary and $34 million guaranteed.
The smile is staying in the Valley ?
We have signed OL D.J. Humphries to a contract extension through the 2025 season.
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) August 2, 2022
This means that Humphries is now the third highest-paid left tackle in the NFL. Only two players earn more yearly: Trent Williams (with a position-high $23.01 million salary) of the San Francisco 49ers and David Bakhtiari ($23 million) of the Green Bay Packers.
The Cardinals first signed Humphries in 2015 with a four-year rookie contract worth $8.91 million. In 2020, Humphries signed a contract extension for three years, worth $45 million.
Previously in June, the 28-year-old told reporters that he planned to stay a Cardinal for his whole career. In the same interview, he also said that he expected to come to an agreement with the Cardinals.
Past performance
As a high school player, Humphries was ranked first as an offensive tackle prospect in his class. Although he received offers from North Carolina, Georgia, as well as Alabama, among others, he ultimately chose to play for the University of Florida Gators.
In 2015, he began his NFL career with the Cardinals as its first-round pick. Unfortunately, he did not play a single game in both the regular and postseason games. He finally made his actual debut during the 2016 campaign. After bouncing back from injuries in 2017-2018, the offensive player was selected for his first Pro Bowl in 2021. By then, Humphries’ role mainly involved protecting quarterback Kyler Murray’s blind side during games.
Thanks to his contribution, the Cardinals finished in the NFL’s top 10 with 23 rushing touchdowns, 2,076 rushing yards, as well as 4,619 passing yards. The 6-foot-5 player has also started in all 75 games he has played, and he has been the team captain for the past two seasons. Unfortunately, his 47 consecutive games streak ended last season after he caught COVID-19.
Humphries has previously missed the first week of training camp, which started on July 25. The coach, Kliff Kingsbury, said the absence was due to an illness, although there are rumors that it was due to the contract negotiation.
Other extensions
With only two other offensive linemen (center Rodney Hudson and tackle/guard Josh Jones) securely signed beyond the upcoming campaign, closing the deal with Humphries has given the Cardinals a little stability in its offensive line. The team’s current priority is to build a strong offensive to protect quarterback Kyler Murray. Murray himself signed a five-year contract this summer worth $230.5 million.
There are six players whose contract extensions are still up in the air. Right tackle Kelvin Beachum, guards Justin Pugh and Will Hernandez, cornerback Byron Murphy Jr., wide receiver Marquise Brown, and safety Jalen Thompson are all entering the final year of their contracts. The players would become free agents after the 2022 season if they couldn’t come to a deal with the Cardinals.