The Philadelphia Eagles have announced that middle linebacker Mychal Kendricks has signed a four year, $29 million contract extension.
Kendricks could earn up to $31.5 million with incentives but as it stands the contract's guarantee is $16.4 million. He will still be paid like a top 10 middle linebacker and has proven that he is a good fit for Chip Kelly's system.
There were rumors and speculation prior to the 2015 NFL draft that Kendricks would be traded away. Kendricks is a smaller linebacker at 5'11 and currently weighs less than 240 pounds. Kendricks appeared to be on his way out after the Eagles traded for Kiko Alonso however that was not the case. Kelly did state after the Brandon Boykin trade that Kendricks was in no danger of being traded. Kelly stated,
"Mychal Kendricks is not going anywhere, you can write that down in ink, not pencil."
In the end Kendricks proved to talented to trade away, he has 201 career tackles, 9 sacks, 14 pass deflections, and 3 interceptions during his time in Philly. Kendricks will now have more reps than ever before thanks in part to the injuries to the other starting linebackers Kiko Alonso and DeMeco Ryans. Alonso suffered a concussion in preseason and has yet to fully practice while Ryans is recovering from an Achilles injury that ended his 2014 season.
