Panthers tackle Michael Oher signed a three-year contract extension worth $21.6MM in new money, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The deal works out to averages of $7.2MM per year with $9.5MM guaranteed. 
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Earlier this month, the Panthers locked up center Ryan Kalil and the team didn’t take long to turn their attention to the left tackle position. Oher, for his part, had an excellent campaign in his first year with Carolina, rebounding from a down 2014 with the Titans to grade as a top-30 offensive tackle, according to Pro Football Focus. Helping block for one of the best running games in the league (as well as protect league MVP Cam Newton), Oher was a key factor in the Panthers ranking 12th in adjusted line yards, up from 21st in 2014.
Having recently hired Drew Rosenhaus for representation, Oher made it known that he was interested in a new deal:
“It would show that the organization believes in me,” Oher said of what a new deal would mean. “I still have to prove myself. I’m still just trying to prove myself to them and just make sure I’m one of these guys because they do it right.”
Oher was originally scheduled to count for $4.5MM on Carolina’s cap in 2016. Now that he and Kalil have secured pay raises, it’s clear that the Panthers are reallocating the money saved when the team pulled the $13.952MM franchise tag from cornerback Josh Norman. More extensions for team vets are likely on the way.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Good for him. Great story, of course, but that goes without saying at this point.
Huh, good for him. I figured he was done after the that stint in Tennessee, but now I guess we can say that was likely due to inadequate coaching and not a lack of talent.