Bengals Sign DE Carlos Dunlap To A Six-Year Extension

Pro Football Talk is reporting that the Bengals have reached an agreement with DE Carlos Dunlap on a six-year deal worth a base value of $40 million.

• Geoff Hobson tweeted that he was hearing that an agreement between the two parties was close right before the PFT report.
• Mike Florio adds that Dunlap will receive $18.7 million between now and 2014 training camp with $20 million total over the next two seasons.

The Bengals franchised DE Michael Johnson back in February, but were unable to reach an agreement on a long-term contract before Monday’s deadline.

Dunlap, 24, was rated as the No. 9 4-3 defensive end by Pro Football Focus. He appeared in 14 games for the Bengals last season and tallied 7 sacks.

Cincinnati will still have to figure out a way of preventing DT Geno Atkins from hitting the open market in 2014, but it seems like a foregone conclusion that Johnson will have a new team next year.

We had Dunlap listed as the No. 14 player in our Top 50 – 2014 Free Agents list.

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Joe Reedy of the Cincinnati Enquirer previewed the not-too-distant future for the Cincinnati Bengals Monday afternoon.

While explaining most of the Bengals defensive line and key players like Andy Dalton and A.J. Green could all be in line for new deals, Reedy proposed the question of who would have to go in order for all these extensions to work financially. In his eyes, it would be either Michael Johnson or Carlos Dunlap, but not both.

Next season, Johnson, Dunlap and Geno Atkins could all become free agents. All three are high impact, productive players. With Johnson playing on the franchise tag this season, there’s a possibility the team tries to extend him before next offseason, so the tag could then e applied to Atkins if necessary.

Under the new NFL collective bargaining rules, next year (the player’s third year) would be the first time the franchise could speak to Dalton and Green about locking them up long-term. Green is likely due top-5 money, and appropriately so. In Dalton’s case, the QB has taken his team to the playoffs consecutive years. Combine that with the salary demands of the position and Dalton’s price could be steep as well.

The Bengals certainly have some decisions to make next offseason about who to lock up now, who they can lock up later and who is expendable. With most of the team’s roster in need of re-upping deals, it’s likely Cincinnati could be non-factors in free agency if they choose to reward their own.