SATURDAY, 2:07pm: Lewis’ official extension is for two years and $3MM, according to Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald. Cap charges for Lewis’ deal are $791K for 2015, $1.2MM in 2016 and $1.6MM in ’17, per Howe. The latter number as of now represents the second-lowest cap figure for any running back for the 2017 campaign, Ben Volin of the Boston Globe reports.
Additionally, the newest Patriots backfield contributor can earn $12.5K per game in roster bonuses in 2016.
Another such bonus comes from Lewis’ snap count, Howe notes, with the running back set to collect $200K for participating in 40% of New England’s plays next season. That number could rise to $400K if Lewis plays in 60% of the Pats’ snaps. He’s played in 67.8% of them through three games this season, doing so after Shane Vereen‘s number came in at 52.6% in 2014.
THURSDAY, 10:15am: The Patriots have locked up running back Dion Lewis to a new contract, signing him to a two-year extension that keeps him under team control through the 2017 season, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Lewis’ minimum-salary pact had been set to expire after this year.
Yates reports (via Twitter) that the deal features base salaries of $800K (2016) and $1.2MM (2017), along with a signing bonus of $600K, so it sounds like the base value will be at least $2.6MM. The contract also comes with up to $1.8MM in incentives that Lewis could earn in 2016 and 2017, says Yates. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com adds (via Twitter) that the contract could be worth up to about $5MM in total.
Lewis, 25, hadn’t seen the field in a regular season game since December 2012 coming into this year, but he has quickly become a key component of the Patriots’ offense. Through three games – all wins – Lewis has tallied 146 yards on the ground and another 179 through the air, with a pair of touchdowns.
If Lewis hadn’t received a new contract from the Patriots, the former fifth-round pick would have been eligible for restricted free agency at the end of the 2015 campaign.
Even for the Patriots, this would rank as a scrap-heap coup. Signing a running back this early in the year could be a win-win considering RBs’ cratering job security, the Patriots having a proven role for Lewis after Kevin Faulk and Shane Vereen thrived in it and New England keeping him around on a modest deal.