CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Carolina Panthers signed Pro Bowl outside linebacker Thomas Davis to a one-year extension, all but guaranteeing the 34-year-old will finish his career with the team that drafted him.
The deal, announced Tuesday, runs through the 2018 season and is worth $6.75 million -- with $2 million guaranteed in 2017 and $3 million guaranteed total -- a league source confirmed.No linebacker in recent league history has been extended with one year left on his deal at age 34.
Davis had said at the start of training camp that a deal was in the works before team owner Jerry Richardson fired general manager Dave Gettleman and hired Marty Hurney as the interim GM.
"Everybody knows how I feel about being a Carolina Panther," Davis said in a statement as the team left for two days of joint practices with the Tennessee Titansin Nashville. "This extension solidifies me being here for the rest of my career, and I'm excited about that.
"Now it's totally focused on winning a Super Bowl."
Davis, the 14th pick of the 2005 draft, is Carolina's all-time leading tackler with 1,086 in 149 regular-season games, including 131 starts.
"Thomas is still playing fast and at a high level, and the intensity and passion that he brings to the game is unmatched," linebackers coach Al Holcomb said in a statement. "He is the ultimate leader, and to continue to have a player and a man of his magnitude on our team is extremely important.''
Davis earned his second consecutive Pro Bowl selection last season and has made more than 100 tackles in each of the past five years. All this after being the first player in NFL history to successfully return from three ACL surgeries on the same knee.
Davis also has been Carolina's leader in the community. In 2014, he was named the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year.