Latest news with #defensiveplayer
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
LSU football linebacker Whit Weeks on why Harold Perkins Jr. is best player he's seen
LSU football junior linebacker Whit Weeks details why fellow linebacker Harold Perkins Jr. is the best defensive player he's ever seen.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
The Pittsburgh Steelers make star linebacker T.J. Watt the NFL's highest-paid defender
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers made star outside linebacker T.J. Watt the NFL's highest-paid defensive player on Thursday, signing him to a pact that will keep the perennial All-Pro in black-and-gold well into his 30s. Watt, who was entering the final season of the four-year extension he signed in 2021, is scheduled to make $123 million over the course of the three-year agreement, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract had not yet been made public. ESPN first reported the extension. Watt appeared to celebrate by making a rare Instagram post on Thursday afternoon, sharing a picture of him flexing in his signature No. 90 jersey. Watt also posted a photo in his Instagram stories of him posing alongside protégé and third-year Steelers outside linebacker Nick Herbig. The average annual value of $41 million eclipses the previous record contract for a defender set by Cleveland defensive lineman and reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett in March. The value also eclipses the average salary of Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase, who became the league's highest-paid non-quarterback after agreeing to a new contract worth $40.25 million a season. The fact that Watt's extension is worth 2.5% more per season than Garrett's (whose overall total value of $204 million is still higher than Watt's) is not a coincidence. Watt, the 2021 Defensive Player of the Year and a four-time All-Pro and seven-time Pro Bowler, has long believed he is the best edge rusher in the NFL. For the second time in four years, he's being paid like it. Watt, who turns 31 in November, took the unusual step of skipping mandatory minicamp last month in hopes of putting pressure on Pittsburgh's front office to get something done. Head coach Mike Tomlin brushed off Watt's absence, saying it was only a matter of time before things worked themselves out. The timing couldn't be better. The new-look Steelers — now led by quarterback Aaron Rodgers — report to training camp at Saint Vincent College next Wednesday. They'll do it with a familiar face in tow. Watt, who tied an NFL record by racking up 22 1/2 sacks in 2021, is the linchpin of a defense that will be relied on heavily if the Steelers want to end a playoff drought that stretches back to the 2016 AFC Championship, a few months before the Steelers selected Watt with the 30th overall pick in the 2017 draft. ___ AP NFL:
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
The Pittsburgh Steelers make star linebacker T.J. Watt the NFL's highest-paid defender
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers made star outside linebacker T.J. Watt the NFL's highest-paid defensive player on Thursday, signing him to a pact that will keep the perennial All-Pro in black-and-gold well into his 30s. Watt, who was entering the final season of the four-year extension he signed in 2021, is scheduled to make $123 million over the course of the three-year agreement, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract had not yet been made public. ESPN first reported the extension. Watt appeared to celebrate by making a rare Instagram post on Thursday afternoon, sharing a picture of him flexing in his signature No. 90 jersey. Watt also posted a photo in his Instagram stories of him posing alongside protégé and third-year Steelers outside linebacker Nick Herbig. The average annual value of $41 million eclipses the previous record contract for a defender set by Cleveland defensive lineman and reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett in March. The value also eclipses the average salary of Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase, who became the league's highest-paid non-quarterback after agreeing to a new contract worth $40.25 million a season. The fact that Watt's extension is worth 2.5% more per season than Garrett's (whose overall total value of $204 million is still higher than Watt's) is not a coincidence. Watt, the 2021 Defensive Player of the Year and a four-time All-Pro and seven-time Pro Bowler, has long believed he is the best edge rusher in the NFL. For the second time in four years, he's being paid like it. Watt, who turns 31 in November, took the unusual step of skipping mandatory minicamp last month in hopes of putting pressure on Pittsburgh's front office to get something done. Head coach Mike Tomlin brushed off Watt's absence, saying it was only a matter of time before things worked themselves out. The timing couldn't be better. The new-look Steelers — now led by quarterback Aaron Rodgers — report to training camp at Saint Vincent College next Wednesday. They'll do it with a familiar face in tow. Watt, who tied an NFL record by racking up 22 1/2 sacks in 2021, is the linchpin of a defense that will be relied on heavily if the Steelers want to end a playoff drought that stretches back to the 2016 AFC Championship, a few months before the Steelers selected Watt with the 30th overall pick in the 2017 draft. ___ AP NFL:
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Adam Schefter Predicts Micah Parsons Will Sign Historic Contract With Cowboys
Adam Schefter Predicts Micah Parsons Will Sign Historic Contract With Cowboys originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Dallas Cowboys have yet to ink edge rusher Micah Parsons to a contract extension, and the price figures only to be going up while they wait. Advertisement Dallas already made quarterback Dak Prescott the highest-paid player in NFL history based on annual average salary by inking him to a four-year extension worth $240 million ($60 million per season) in September 2024. ESPN's Adam Schefter appeared on the Tuesday, June 17 edition of "Unsportsmanlike Radio with Evan Canty and Michelle" and predicted that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones will eventually make Parsons the highest-paid defensive player in league history once the linebacker ultimately signs an extension of his own. "Micah Parsons I expect to become the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history," Schefter said. "[Trey] Hendrickson, [T.J] Watt: I think they'll be in the [Maxx] Crosby, [Myles] Garrett range -- somewhere in there. I don't have an exact number. ... But I can say, I believe with great confidence, that Micah Parsons will become the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history. If you go back and look at some of the numbers, his numbers are outstanding. And he's younger than all of them." Advertisement Garrett inked a four-year contract extension this offseason with the Cleveland Browns worth a total of $160 million ($40 million annually), which is the most any defender at any position has ever made on a per season basis. As such, that is the number Schefter is predicting Parsons will beat. Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons.© Eric Hartline-Imagn Images Parsons, a former first-round pick (No. 12 overall) in 2021, is entering the final season of his rookie contract in 2025. He initially inked a four-year deal worth $17.1 million, but Dallas exercised a fifth-year team option on that agreement, which pays Parsons just over $24 million in his age-26 campaign. Technically, the Cowboys will be able to use the franchise tag to hold onto Parsons on a lucrative one-year contract in 2026, though it makes far more sense for the team to extend him before that if Dallas intends to keep him longterm. The longer they wait, the more Parsons' price tag is likely to rise based on projected increases to the league-wide salary cap and other defensive players potentially resetting the high watermark financially. Advertisement Parsons is a four-time Pro Bowler and a three-time All-Pro honoree who has amassed 63 tackles for loss and 52.5 sacks in 63 games played over his four-year NFL career. Related: Micah Parsons Gets Major Endorsement For Contract Extension This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 17, 2025, where it first appeared.
