The Bengals have signed defensive end Carlos Dunlap to a three-year, $45MM extension, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The new deal will keep him in place through the 2021 season. 
Word of Dunlap’s deal broke just moments after the Bengals reached agreement on a four-year deal with defensive tackle Geno Atkins. In one fell swoop, the Bengals have locked down two pillars of their defensive line.
Dunlap was set to enter the final year of the six-year, $40MM extension he signed in 2013. The 29-year-old will earn a base salary of $7MM (well below his true value) before starting the new deal.
Dunlap, 29, has been tremendous in Cincinnati, particularly in the second half of games. The advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus have routinely rated him as a top-30 edge defender over the past seven seasons and he has been equally strong against the pass and the run.
Earlier this offseason, we estimated that Dunlap would have to play out the 2018 season at a high level in order to secure a $15MM/year deal. Instead, Dunlap has landed that deal without risking injury or regression, so his camp did quite well in these negotiations.
With Dunlap and Atkins squared away, the Bengals can shift their focus to other extension candidates such as cornerback Darqueze Dennard. The Bengals also have a trio of tight ends to consider in Tyler Kroft, Tyler Eifert, and C.J. Uzomah, and they may want to leave some money in the coffers to re-sign defensive end Michael Johnson after the 2018 season.