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The Bears have signed linebacker Danny Trevathan to a three-year extension, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported on Thursday.
UPDATE: The NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport is reporting that Trevathan’s deal is for 3-years with $21.75 million in base value, a maximum of $24 million with incentives, and $14 guaranteed.
UPDATE to the UPDATE: Brad Biggs has the fine print.
Trevathan gets a $4M signing bonus.
— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) March 16, 2020
2020 base salary is $3M
2021 base $3M
2022 base $2.5M
Has an option bonus for 2021 of $3.625M and option bonus for 2022 of same amount. Both option bonuses can be converted to base salary.
Trevathan, 29, was slated to hit free agency after playing out the entirety of a four-year, $28 million deal signed in March of 2016. He has played in 46 games in his four seasons with the Bears, starting in 45 of them. During that span, he totaled 327 tackles, 15 tackles for a loss and 6 sacks. The veteran, who will be entering his ninth season in the NFL, tallied 70 tackles in 9 games during his 2019 campaign.
The debate between whether Chicago would re-sign Trevathan or Nick Kwiatkoski had been one of the bigger storylines heading into free agency, and it appears that the Bears have made up their mind. Kwiatkoski stepped in when Trevathan suffered a season-ending elbow injury in Week 10 and performed admirably, but that high level of play likely placed him out of the Bears’ price range.
Trevathan was one of the pieces brought in to help revamp the Bears’ defense in the 2016 offseason, and he has served as one of the team’s most valuable leaders since then. His return brings some stability to their defense heading into the 2020 season.