The Raiders have made some major changes on their offensive line, but they will make sure their left tackle will not be going anywhere for a while. They agreed to terms with Kolton Miller on an extension Tuesday, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).
Miller agreed to a three-year deal worth more than $18MM annually, per Fowler, who adds the three-year veteran will receive more than $42.6MM fully guaranteed. The contract will end up averaging just north of $18MM per year, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. The agreement locks in Miller through the 2025 season. Miller’s rookie contract, including the fifth-year option, ran through 2022.
This marks the first extension handed out to a member of the 2018 draft class, which became extension-eligible in January. The Raiders had a Miller extension in mind for a bit now, and they will take care of their first draft pick of the second Jon Gruden era. After trading down with the Cardinals in a deal that sent them ex-UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen, the Raiders took Rosen’s blindside Bruins protector at No. 15 overall. The Raiders’ pick worked out, with Miller having started 46 games in three seasons.
Las Vegas’ Miller decision comes after the team surprised most by gutting its offensive line. The Raiders traded Pro Bowlers Rodney Hudson and Trent Brown and also dealt its longest-tenured O-lineman, Gabe Jackson. While the team still opted to bring back Richie Incognito and Denzelle Good, Miller is now this O-line’s unquestioned anchor.
Pro Football Focus has not viewed Miller as a high-end tackle just yet, though it did assign the 25-year-old blocker his best grade last season. He ranked a career-best 34th among tackles in 2020. While Miller has helped Josh Jacobs to back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons and been present for consecutive Derek Carr top-11 QBR campaigns, this extension marks a bet in further Miller development.
At $18MM annually, Miller’s new deal comes in fifth among left tackles. It will land just below the recently established top tier at the position. However, the $42.6MM fully guaranteed comes in second at the position. That is a significant win for Miller, considering this is a three-year deal. Even Laremy Tunsil‘s market-reshaping three-year extension did not include this much in fully guaranteed money. While the Raiders bailed on their previous monster tackle accord, shipping Brown to the Patriots after two seasons, they will bet big on Miller.
I’m not mad about this because if this was the plan all along. It’s a lot to swallow but by the time his contract is up I’m guessing 18 mill will be a middle of the road LT contract.
Could have played out the existing rookie contract and fifth year option and signed this deal in the fifth year. Fifth year was $10 million. No special win here for the Raiders based on performance. Worst case, one year of franchise tag would still cost less overall for almost same period of control. Not great business sense here. Paid higher than market.
The extension won’t take place technically until after the 5th year option is over, hence why they said he will be under contact for the 2025 season… 5th player option plus the 3 year extension equals the 4 seasons the article is referring to.
Curious if they can get some extra cap space for the upcoming season by agreeing to this extension with Miller.
We still desperately need help in the secondary