The Cincinnati Bengals emphatically made financial commitments to two long-time defensive stalwarts on Tuesday.
In the span of roughly a half hour, news broke that the team had signed both Geno Atkins and Carlos Dunlap to long-term deals. Dunlap is getting a three-year extension worth $45 million, per multiple reports including one from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Atkins is getting an even bigger payday. His extension is worth a total of $65.3 million including $25.5 million guaranteed in the first year of the deal.
What also makes Atkins’ new contract notable is that it averages $16.3 million per year over the life of the deal. That’s the highest such annual value for a non-quarterback who’s 30 years of age or older in NFL history.
The #Bengals are doing work. First Geno Atkins. Now, they agreed to terms on a 3-year extension with DE Carlos Dunlap worth $45M, source said. He gets his long-awaited deal.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 28, 2018
Geno Atkins, Carlos Dunlap Sign Multiyear Extensions With Cincinnati Bengals
The two defensive linemen are inextricably linked to recent Bengals history. Cincy took both players in the 2010 NFL Draft with Dunlap going in the second round and Atkins coming off the board in the fourth. They’ve since become household names on the team’s defensive front.
Both Atkins and Dunlap rank in the top 20 among NFL players in sacks since they entered the league. Atkins’ total of 64.5 is good enough for 10th in that span while Dunlap is 18th with 61. Those totals also make them the two most prolific sack machines in Bengals franchise history.
Atkins has two double-digit sack seasons under his belt (2012, 2015), both of which resulted in first-team All-Pro honors for the man out of Georgia. Meanwhile, his teammate from collegiate rival Florida joined him in 2015 with a team-leading 13.5 sacks (Atkins had 11). Dunlap made the Pro Bowl both that year and in 2016 when he registered eight sacks, three forced fumbles, and 15 passes defended which led all NFL defensive linemen.
Inking these two players today is a shrewd move on the part of the Bengals organization. It ensured that Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who remains unsigned, didn’t set the market at the position. That may have forced Cincy to commit more cap space than they would’ve liked to these two players. In the end, these two moves solidify the veteran presence on a unit which also includes some promising young players such as Andrew Billings and Jordan Willis.
