FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The Patriots have signed defensive lineman Christian Barmore to a rookie contract and have now reached deals with their entire 2021 draft class.
Barmore’s agent, Klutch Sports’ Nicole Lynn, posted a photo of him signing the new contract on Twitter on Wednesday.
A second-round pick out of Alabama, New England is hoping the 6-foot-5, 310-pound Barmore can be a key cog in helping it revamp a run defense that allowed 2,103 yards last season, which ranked 26th in the NFL.
Barmore had a team-high eight sacks for the Crimson Tide in 2020 and earned defensive MVP honors in Alabama’s national championship win over Ohio State.
He joins a defensive line that includes fellow rookie Ronnie Perkins, veterans Lawrence Guy and Deatrich Wise, and free-agent additions Davon Godchaux, Henry Anderson and Montravius Adams.
BROWNS: Baker Mayfield is letting everyone else stress over his contract situation and future with the Browns. He’s got other priorities.
“I’m about winning,” Mayfield said Tuesday while hosting more than 300 youngsters at his football camp. “And I think everything will play itself out. I’m not worried about it at all because if we win, we’re headed in the right direction.”
Mayfield is eligible to receive an extension this summer from the Browns, who don’t seem in any rush to commit to the 26-year-old quarterback. Mayfield raised his game last season by helping Cleveland end a playoff drought stretching to 2003. The team exercised Mayfield’s $18.8 million fifth-year option for 2022 in April, a strong signal the Browns view him as their franchise QB.
However, there have been no serious negotiations to this point, and the team may be waiting to see if Mayfield can duplicate his success from last season – or improve – before making a bigger commitment. Also, the contract situations with Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson and Buffalo’s Josh Allen – both drafted in 2018 after Mayfield went No. 1 – could affect the timing of any deal. Mayfield’s agents, Tom and Jack Mills, may want to see where the bar is set before getting deeper into talks.
After so many miserable seasons and coaching changes since their expansion return in 1999, the Browns, who went 12-6 last season and won their first playoff game since 1994, are considered Super Bowl contenders.
With the opening of training camp less than a week away, Mayfield is already trying to rein in any assumptions.
“The thing I always try and harp on is last year doesn’t matter, good or bad,” he said. “You have to start fresh. It doesn’t matter if your team was in the Super Bowl or you didn’t win a game. You have to build the foundation to focus on the next season.”
49ERS: The San Francisco 49ers agreed on a five-year contract extension with Fred Warner that makes him the highest-paid off-ball linebacker in the NFL.
A person familiar with the deal said the extension that runs through 2026 is worth about $95 million with $40.5 million in guarantees. .
The deal tops the $18 million a year average for Seattle’s Bobby Wagner, which had been the top at the position.
Locking up Warner with a long-term deal was one of the key tasks for San Francisco before the start of training camp next week.
STEELERS: The Steelers announced that linebacker Vince Williams retired, one day before the Steelers open their training camp.
Williams, 31, spent his entire eight-year career with the Steelers, starting 69 of the 121 games he dressed. Williams finished his career with 479 tackles, 20 ½ sacks and two interceptions, one of which he returned for his only career touchdown.
The decision ends an odd five months for Williams, who was released in March and re-signed on a smaller contract one month later.
The pinned tweet on Williams’ Twitter account is: “I lost 3 million dollars, but I found Jesus and tbh Im perfectly fine with that.”
The loss of $3 million was in reference to the pay cut he took to return to the Steelers in April.
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