(Photo by Jared Wilkerham/Getty Images North America)
by Dakota Antelman
One day before their playoff matchup against the Baltimore Ravens, the Patriots front office briefly took their eyes off Joe Flacco and company with intentions to sure up their own team in the long term.
As was first reported by ESPN’s Mike Reiss, the Patriots signed safety Patrick Chung as well as special team player Brandon Boulden to multiyear contract extensions on Friday afternoon.
Chung’s deal runs for the next three years and is worth up to $8.2M when incentives are factored in. Regardless though, at its core, the Chung deal offers him a $2.4M signing bonus as well as a guaranteed base salary of $3.4M.
The hefty pay raise comes after a resurgent season for Chung with New England. He played all 16 games for the team making 85 tackles and picking off one pass for an interception. Coaches, fans and media alike were delighted to see Chung return to form this season after a four year stint with the team (between 2009-2012) that was largely deemed a failed experiment.
Chung played the 2013 season with the Eagles but returned to the Patriots through free agency following the year.
Bill Belichick described Chung’s journey man qualities of late as a product of him trying to effectively find a way to fit within an NFL system
"I think some of the circumstance of the '12 season didn't work out as well as we all hoped, for a combination of reasons,” he said back in November. “Pat and I talked about that last year after he was released from Philadelphia. Pat and I talked about that. We had a long conversation about a lot of things. I don't think it was anybody's fault. It was just one of those things that didn't work out.”
Needless to say, that conversation proved poignant and set the stage for one of Chung’s best seasons.
Behind Chung for much of the year was special teams running back Brandon Boulden who was also extended Friday.
His deal is worth $3.2M and runs through the 2016 season. The deal could inflate to over $3.5M though with the $350,000 in incentives Boulden has the opportunity to earn.
Boulden, dispite sitting low on the running back depth chart, got considerable time on the kick return and punt defense teams this season. He figures to do the same next season while always being available to step in should the rushing core be damaged enough to need such depth.
The Patriots assigned over $11M on contract money to players Friday, locking up some considerable depth at two often lesser mentioned positions on their team. The deals guarantees that depth for next season while it could also be a confidence booster for Boulden and Chung in the short term when New England plays Baltimore on Saturday in Foxboro.
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