The Patriots clearly liked what they saw from Davon Godchaux last season.
New England on Wednesday signed the veteran defensive tackle to a two-year, $20.8 million contract extension, his agents Drew Rosenhaus and Ryan Matha told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The new deal includes $17.85 million fully guaranteed.
The first member of the Patriots’ blockbuster 2021 free agent class, Godchaux had been poised to enter Year 2 of the two-year, $15 million contract he signed last March.
The exact structure of Wednesday’s extension wasn’t immediately reported, but it likely will lower Godchaux’s $10.25 million salary cap hit for the upcoming season, which would have been the sixth-highest of any Patriots player.
The Patriots entered Wednesday — the date of their first training camp practice — with roughly $1.4 million in available cap space, according to cap expert Miguel Benzan. They have seven open spots on their 90-man roster.
Godchaux played in all 17 games with 16 starts last season, tallying 65 tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack and five quarterback hits. Playing multiple positions along the defensive line, the 27-year-old was Pro Football Focus’s 42nd-highest-graded interior defender, finishing just ahead of teammates Christian Barmore (45th) and Lawrence Guy (46th). Godchaux ranked 31st against the run.
New England opted to keep its D-line largely intact this offseason despite struggling at times to defend the run in 2021. Those issues were especially acute during the team’s late-season swoon, with Patriots opponents averaging 165.4 rushing yards per game from Week 12 through their wild-card playoff loss to Buffalo. The Patriots allowed more than 170 rush yards in four of those seven games.
Godchaux, Barmore and Guy headline that unit, which also features Deatrich Wise, Carl Davis, Henry Anderson, Daniel Ekuale and rookies Sam Roberts, LaBryan Ray and Jeremiah Pharms.
NESN.com’s coverage of New England Patriots preseason is presented by Cross Insurance, protecting your team since 1954.
