Andy Dalton isn't the only man looking for a new contract from the Cincinnati Bengals. The NFL's leading tackler, Vontaze Burfict, is also eligible for an extension this season.
NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported Tuesday that Burfict and the Bengals are talking about a "big extension."
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The linebacker is due $570,000 in 2014. Burfict signed a three-year $1.441 million contract with just a $1,000 signing bonus in 2012, after he went undrafted due to some serious character concerns.
Under Marvin Lewis, the 23-year-old linebacker has been phenomenal. He compiled 171 combined tackles, three sacks, six passes defensed and an interception in 2013. In his rookie season, he racked up 127 tackles.
The athletic, sideline-to-sideline defender who can tackle and cover tight ends is a commodity in the NFL, and Lewis would like to lock down this one long-term.
Burfict is still under team control for two more seasons -- very, very cheaply -- but it appears the Bengals are making the smart move in attempting to extend one of the NFL's most underpaid defenders.
In the latest edition of the "Around The League Podcast," the guys talk Geno Smith's future in New York and pick the winners and losers of free agency.