OT D.J. Humphries, Cardinals agree to 3-year contract extension
Feb 17, 2020, 5:29 PM | Updated: Feb 18, 2020, 10:31 am
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
The Arizona Cardinals have agreed to a contract extension with offensive lineman D.J. Humphries, the team announced officially on Tuesday.
It’s a three-year deal for Humphries for $45 million, with $29 million guaranteed and $30 million coming in the first two years, per the NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.
Humphries, 26, had reached the expiration of his first NFL contract and was set to become an unrestricted free agent in March.
His re-upping with the Cardinals was surely aided by the fact that he appeared in all 16 games for Arizona in 2019, something he had never done previously in his career. Injuries shortened the previous three seasons, and he had played in 13, five and nine games — in that order.
Those injury-limiting seasons came after Humphries sat out his entire rookie season and took public criticism from then-coach Bruce Arians.
On Friday, Cardinals general manager Steve Keim was “optimistic” about Humphries as the left tackle of the future for the franchise.
“He’s always loved to play — he’s always been passionate and played hard,” Keim told 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s Doug & Wolf as a part of Newsmakers Week. “I think early on he was a young guy that had to get the big picture. Sean Kugler has been fantastic for that room. Sean Kugler in my opinion is one of the best offensive line coaches in the national football league.”
A Charlotte, N.C., native, Humphries was the Cardinals’ starting left tackle all season and part of a group that helped Arizona’s running game finish with a franchise-record 5.0 yards per carry for a season.
Humphries was a first-round selection (24th overall) by the Cardinals in 2015 NFL Draft out of Florida. He is the only offensive lineman the Cardinals have drafted in the first round since they took Jonathan Cooper seventh overall in 2013.
Fellow offensive linemen Marcus Gilbert, Max Garcia, A.Q. Shipley and Jordan Mills are also pending free agents when the new league year begins. Justin Murray, who finished the year as the starting right tackle in the wake of Gilbert’s injury, is an exclusive rights free agent.
