7 NFL Players Who Deserve Contract Extensions Before the 2022 Season Ends

As the 2022 NFL season enters its final stretch, most of the football world is focused on the impending playoffs. However, many front-office executives are already looking ahead at the looming offseason.

Some of those executives will try to lock up players before they get a chance to test free agency in March. The Green Bay Packers, for example, signed offensive lineman Elgton Jenkins—one of our top 2023 free agents—to a four-year, $68 million extension Friday.

"We are very excited to be able to come to an agreement that keeps Elgton with the Packers," general manager Brian Gutekunst said, per ESPN's Rob Demovsky.

Shortly after Jenkins got his deal, the Cleveland Browns signed right tackle Jack Conklin to a four-year, $60 million extension.

Who else realistically can and should be extended before the season's end? That's what we're here to examine. We'll dive into seven players who deserve extensions now, why re-signing them would be smart and what their potential deals might look like.

Players are listed in alphabetical order.

No team is hotter right now than the Cincinnati Bengals, and they figure to be a perennial contender over the next several campaigns. With quarterback Joe Burrow extension-eligible next offseason, the Bengals would be wise to start locking up long-term contributors now.

Burrow will likely become the league's highest-paid quarterback before long, and his next deal could impact Cincinnati's ability to engage in free-agent bidding wars.

The team cannot extend standout safety Jessie Bates III because he is playing on the franchise tag. It can and should, however, sign fellow safety Vonn Bell.

Bell is having a tremendous season. He has notched 73 tackles, two forced fumbles, seven passes defended and four interceptions. He has allowed an opposing passer rating of just 57.4 in coverage.

At only 28 years old, Bell can be a long-term staple in Cincinnati's secondary. The Bengals have no reason to wait to extend him.

Bell has a projected market value of $10.1 million annually. He may get significantly more than that as one of the top safeties in free agency alongside Bates and Philadelphia Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson.

The Bengals should offer Bell a four-year, $40 million extension and secure his services before turning their attention to Burrow's contract negotiations.

A case could certainly be made for C.J. Gardner-Johnson. However, he remains out after suffering a lacerated kidney, and Philadelphia may want to have him back to full health before inking him to an extension.

Teammate James Bradberry, on the other hand, should be extended immediately. The Eagles scooped up the 29-year-old on a modest one-year, $7.3 million deal after he was released by the NFC East rival New York Giants.

The Eagles have been rewarded handsomely. Bradberry has started all 15 games and has allowed an opposing passer rating of only 42.2 in coverage.

There are two main reasons why extending Bradberry now would be logical. First, much of his deal is prorated over the next four seasons, with contract years that automatically void in the spring.

The $5 million in dead money could be folded into an extension, minimizing the 2023 cap hit on a new deal.

Secondly, high-end cornerbacks don't come cheap in free agency, and Bradberry's market could skyrocket if he gets there. He already has a projected market value of $17.1 million annually.

Might the Eagles convince Bradberry to take a little less in order to remain with a championship contender? They should try. Something in the three-year, $45 million range would make a lot of sense for both sides.

Things are a little less complicated when it comes to Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Evan Engram.

There's pretty much one reason why locking up him would make sense for the Jags, and his name is Trevor Lawrence. The second-year signal-caller is approaching the league's top tier of quarterbacks, and he has his team in playoff contention.

Engram, who only turned 28 in September, has developed a ton of chemistry with Lawrence this season.

In 15 games with 12 starts, he has caught 68 passes for 723 yards and four touchdowns. He has provided a passer rating of 110.9 when targeted—substantially higher than Lawrence's season-long passer rating of 96.0.

Jacksonville shouldn't risk losing one of the quarterbacks most reliable targets. Engram is young enough to continue aiding Lawrence's development for several years.

Engram has a projected market value of $7.5 million annually. A four-year, $30 million extension offer would be fair and benefit everyone involved.

At only 27 years old, Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Poona Ford possesses a rare blend of youth, proven production and systematic experience. The 2018 undrafted free agent out of Texas has played his entire career in Seattle, and the Seahawks should be eager to keep him there.

While he might be a relative unknown to non-Seahawks fans, he has developed into one of the most dependable interior defenders in the NFL.

So far this season, Ford has racked up 32 tackles, three sacks and seven quarterback hits. He has played 57 percent of the defensive snaps and has started all 15 contests. He hasn't missed a start over the last three seasons and has amassed 125 tackles and seven sacks in that span.

Ford will be a coveted free agent if he hits the open market, and his projected market value of $9.2 million annually reflects this.

The Seahawks know that Ford can be an integral part of their defensive front, and they should have no concerns about his fit or his durability. Locking up the homegrown talent with a deal in the four-year, $37 million range would make perfect sense, and there's no reason to wait.

The Indianapolis Colts will almost certainly be rebuilding in 2023, perhaps without interim head coach Jeff Saturday.

Saturday's Colts have lost four straight, are out of the postseason mix and will almost assuredly be seeking a new starting quarterback in the offseason. General manager Chris Ballard will return for 2023, however.

"There's no question about that," franchise owner Jim Irsay said in November of bringing back Ballard after firing coach Frank Reich, per Joel A. Erickson of the Indianapolis Star. "Honestly, it's not really in the consciousness of my mind about that sort of thing."

Ballard may have to tear down much of the roster in order to build Indianapolis back into a playoff contender. Pass-rusher Yannick Ngakoue is one player who deserves to stay.

Ngakoue—who is on his fifth team in seven seasons—has been spectacular for the Colts. He's logged 27 tackles, 9.5 sacks and 25 quarterback pressures with three games to go. He has notched at least eight sacks in every season, and at 27, he is in his playing prime.

Ballard should view Ngakoue as one of the team's few cornerstones. The Maryland product has a projected market value of $14.8 million annually, but that number could jump if few sack artists reach the free-agent player pool.

Ngakoue, J.J. Watt and Robert Quinn headline the list of 2023 free-agent pass-rushers. Given his age and consistent production, Ngakoue could prove to be the most expensive of the bunch. The Colts should try to secure him now with an offer in the four-year, $60 million range.

The Washington Commanders have already expressed a desire to keep defensive tackle Daron Payne long-term.

"We're going to do our due diligence on the situation and work to get something done with Daron," an anonymous team official told The Athletic's Ben Standig earlier this month. "We're hopeful that we can keep him in Washington."

The longer the team waits to lock up Payne, the more costly it is likely to be. He is having a career year at the right time. He has started all 15 games, logged 57 tackles and notched 9.5 sacks to go with 21 quarterback pressures.

While Payne's sack total has more than doubled since last season (4.5 in 2021), he has been a quality interior pass-rusher for some time. He logged 17 quarterback pressures in 2020 and 27 pressures last season.

Young interior defenders who can rush the passer get paid on the open market. Payne already has a projected value of $14.2 million annually, and that number could skyrocket if he actually becomes available.

There are potentially 31 other franchises that would be interested in scooping up a 25-year-old defensive tackle with double-digit-sack potential.

Washington should offer Payne something in the four-year, $61 million range. It would be a good middle ground between Payne's projected value and the four-year, $72 million extension the Commanders gave fellow defensive lineman Jonathan Allen last offseason.

Doing so could help keep together one of the NFL's top defensive lines for the foreseeable future.

Here's why the Baltimore Ravens should jump on a Roquan Smith extension now: They traded linebacker A.J. Klein, a 2023 second-round pick and a 2023 fifth-round selection to the Chicago Bears to acquire Smith. They didn't do so to land a short-term rental.

The 25-year-old Smith has already proved himself to be a fine fit for Baltimore's defense. In seven games with the Ravens, he has logged 62 tackles, two passes defended, an interception and two sacks.

After notching his first Pro Bowl appearance in 2022, Smith should be viewed as a long-term centerpiece.

Under no circumstances should the Ravens allow Smith to test free agency. He has a projected market value of $17.4 million annually, and he could see substantially more if he becomes available. Colts linebacker Shaquille Leonard is getting $19.7 million annually—the highest rate among inside linebackers—and one could argue that Smith is just as valuable.

And given the next-man-up nature of contract negotiations, Smith will likely seek to replace Leonard as the league's highest-paid player at the position.

Baltimore could always use the franchise tag to keep Smith off the market, but it shouldn't. It should offer him the same five-year, $98.5 million deal that Leonard got in Indy and save the tag as an emergency tool for Lamar Jackson negotiations.

Expect Jackson to firmly be the focal point of Baltimore's offseason.

Advanced statistics from Pro Football Reference. Contract and market information via Spotrac.