This is good to see: ESPN’s Dianna Russini first reported that the New Orleans Saints reached an agreement on a there-year contract extension with safety J.T. Gray, their top special teams player. This was confirmed by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, who added that Gray’s deal includes $2.4 million in guarantees with $500,000 per-year playtime incentives. His new contract is worth $9.6 million over three years with a maximum value of $11.1 million if he earns every bonus and incentive.
Gray led the team with 12 tackles in the kicking game in 2022, having posted 19 of them in 2021. He’s a key player for New Orleans on punts and kickoffs. Gray ranked third on special teams snaps played last season and second in each of the two years before. He’s done really well for himself as a former undrafted free agent out of Mississippi State — Gray was recognized made his first Pro Bowl appearance in 2021, and he’s twice been honored as an All-Pro by the Associated Press in 2019 (second team) and 2021 (first team).
While he’s been limited to defensive snap counts of just 28, 41, and 20 plays in each of the last three years, Gray did rack up 2.5 sacks last season. We’ll see if the Saints have an expanded role for him in mind as starting safeties Tyrann Mathieu and Marcus Maye enter the second year of their deals in 2023.
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