WEDNESDAY, 2:12pm: Coleman’s three-year extension is worth $17MM, a source tells Rapoport (on Twitter). The deal includes $7MM guaranteed with $6MM paid up front.
TUESDAY, 6:43pm: The Panthers and safety Kurt Coleman have agreed to a three-year extension, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Coleman will sign the deal tomorrow.
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Coleman, 28, was scheduled to reach free agency next spring, so this multi-year contract will take him through the 2019 campaign. After inking a two-year deal prior to the 2015 season, Coleman was set to earn about $1.6MM during the upcoming season, but he’s now presumably in line for a substantial raise. Earlier this month, Coleman expressed hope that he and the Panthers could come to some sort of agreement.
“I respect everyone that’s involved in the process and I’m trusting that both sides are going to do what’s right and what’s fair,” Coleman said. “Honestly, it’s out of my hands. My job isn’t to negotiate. I probably wouldn’t be that good at it. My personal feelings might get (involved). I just control what I can control.”
Serving as a full-time starter for only the third time in his six-year career, Coleman posted his best season to date, starting 15 games while picking up 53 tackles and seven interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown. Coleman, an Ohio State alum, also posted two more picks during Carolina’s postseason run. He graded out as the league’s No. 14 safety in 2015, according to Pro Football Focus, just ahead of other playmakers like George Iloka and Will Hill.
Coleman becomes the second Panther to sign an extension this offseason, joining offensive lineman Ryan Kalil and Michael Oher, each of whom were signed through 2018.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.