ExtremeRavens Posted August 27 Posted August 27 The Ravens signed a four-year extension with All-Pro Kyle Hamilton, general manager Eric DeCosta said Wednesday afternoon. The deal is worth $100.4 million with $82 million guaranteed, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation, making the 24-year-old the highest-paid safety in the NFL. DeCosta said talks on the deal began right before players broke for the offseason in June, but the negotiations picked up steam about three weeks ago. “This deal speaks to how we feel about Kyle,” DeCosta said. He referred to Hamilton as a “unicorn” who was able to help Baltimore’s defense place guys in different positions last season. In 2023, Hamilton was at his best roaming around the defense and particularly lining up closer to the line of scrimmage. Last year’s Ravens weren’t afforded that kind of flexibility while spending much of the season shuffling to find a consistent back-end partner. The addition of first-round pick Malaki Starks and cornerback Jaime Alexander should help Baltimore’s secondary be more malleable, which plays to Hamilton’s advantage. “Anytime you can get one of your very best players and get them to sign a long-term extension, I think it’s a great thing,” DeCosta said. He later called it “an important distinction” to be the highest-paid player at his position, but Hamilton “has proven he’s going to carry that very well.” Hamilton was the 14th pick in the 2022 draft out of Notre Dame. He was a first-team All-Pro in 2023 and a second-team All-Pro last season. For his career, he has five interceptions, seven sacks and four forced fumbles. “I think guys like Kyle and some guys that were here before Kyle, guys like Ed [Reed], per se, they pick up the defense so fast,” senior secondary coach Chuck Pagano said this week. “He’s one step ahead. And so, like ‘Eddie’, you just don’t fall into 63 or 64 interceptions and get a gold jacket, right? Everybody was like, ‘How does he do it?’ It’s preparation. Behind the scenes, Kyle prepares as good as anybody. He watches a ton of film, so he’s got almost every play kind of whittled down to one or two plays in every situation, so it gives him a chance to make plays.” This article will be updated. Have a news tip? Contact Sam Cohn at scohn@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/samdcohn. View the full article Quote
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