The Chiefs have reached a contract agreement with linebacker Josh Mauga, and are re-signing him to a new three-year deal worth $8MM, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. Mauga had been eligible for unrestricted free agency.
Playing on a minimum salary in 2014, Mauga logged significant time at inside linebacker for the Chiefs, playing more than 1,000 defensive snaps in his first full season as a starter. In my look at the free agent market for inside linebackers, I viewed Mauga as a second-tier player due to his subpar performance against the run last season. While the 27-year-old wasn’t a detriment to the unit in pass coverage, and got after the quarterback every now and then, his poor grade against the run ensured that he ranked 54th out of the 60 qualified ILBs, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
Still, the Chiefs liked Mauga enough to lock him up for three seasons, and will likely pencil him in as a starter again for the 2015 season. We’ll have to see whether $8MM is really the base value of the contract or not, and it’s not clear how much of that money is guaranteed, but it looks like a solid deal for the young linebacker.