The Philadelphia Eagles are signing left tackle Jordan Mailata to a three-year extension worth as much as $66 million, tying him to the team through the 2028 season.
That should push Mailata’s overall earnings well over $100 million as Mailata still has two seasons remaining on his four-year deal worth as much as $64 million. ESPN was the first to report the contract terms.
More importantly, Mailata’s extension keeps the Eagles’ two tackles — Lane Johnson is the right tackle — under contract through at least 2026. They are the players crucial to protecting quarterback Jalen Hurts.
It’s quite a journey for Mailata, who was drafted in the seventh round in 2018. He had never played organized football before that, growing up in Australia as a rugby player.
But Mailata, who’s listed at 6-foot-8, 365 pounds, got too big for rugby, and thus decided to come to the United States to try football. It was a slow process, as Mailata didn’t get into a game until 2020. The Eagles even used a first-round pick on a left tackle in 2019 when they selected Andre Dillard.
In 2021, Mailata beat out Dillard for the starting job during training camp, and has been a full-time starter ever since.
Eagles bringing back Avonte Maddox
The Eagles are also bringing back cornerback Avonte Maddox, whom they had released last month. Maddox was due to count $9.6 million on the Eagles salary cap this season before he was released.
Maddox signed a one-year deal that’s expected to be worth much less. Maddox has struggled with injuries since he, too, was drafted in 2018, in the fourth round. Maddox played in only 4 games last season after tearing his pectoral muscle in Week 1. He played in 9 games in 2022, and has played in 16 games only once in his previous six seasons.
Still, Maddox is a valued nickel cornerback, a position that the Eagles struggled in last season after his injury. They tried James Bradberry, Bradley Roby, Sydney Brown and Eli Ricks there to limited success.