New England Patriots Sign Linebacker To 2-Year Extension

The New England Patriots secured their team’s future Friday by signing linebacker Brandon King to a two-year extension.

According to some reports, King signed a deal for $3.5 million set to keep him with the Patriots through the 2021 season. Last offseason, he signed a two-year, $2.6 million contract with New England.

NFL’s analyst Ian Rapoport was the first to report the news on Twitter, saying that this is a ‘key depth move for New England.’

King’s agent Sean Stellato also confirmed the news Friday.

“He’s excited. He’s very fortunate to have the Patriots extend him,” Stellato said. “This is where he wants to be. They see the value in him from a special teams standpoint . . . we’re thankful to the organization they put a premium on special teams.”

King, who turns 26 next month, was signed by the Patriots as an undrafted free agent out of Auburn in 2015 and he instantly became a core special teams player.

He recorded a career-high 12 tackles last season and one safety and a forced fumble earlier in his career. At 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, King has been listed at defensive back in prior years.

“He’s a versatile player,” Bill Belichick said of King back in November of this past season. “He’s a tough matchup guy for our opponents and he’s a good matchup guy for us. He can handle speed. He can handle size. He can play inside. He can play outside. He can play the perimeter positions. He can play the inside positions on punts and kickoffs, kickoff returns and punt returns. He’s done all of those things. Sometimes we put him in the position that’s probably best for him. Sometimes he does what we need because we have depth in the position that maybe he’s been working in, but he has more versatility than somebody else.

“He’s got a great attitude. He works hard. He understands what he’s doing in the complementary position. A lot of times when he moves, he’s able to help the person who took his spot with what they’re doing because that’s where he played. He’s got a lot of versatility – the matchup of size, speed, aggressiveness and instincts to be very good in the kicking game. It’s outstanding.”

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