This offseason, D.J. Humphries said he wasn’t worried about getting a contract extension from the Cardinals.
“Left tackles don’t grow on trees, baby,” he quipped.
Turns out, Humphries was right.
Humphries has yet to practice in training camp, but now, he’s got that new deal. The veteran left tackle, who had been set to be a free agent after this season, signed a contract on Tuesday that will take him through the 2025 season, giving long-term clarity to the blindside protection for the franchise quarterback — who also just got a long-term deal.
Terms for Humphries’ new deal were not disclosed.
Humphries had been scheduled to make $14 million in salary this season with another $1 million in per-game roster bonuses. The salary was not guaranteed. His salary cap number was $19.3M, and it wouldn’t be a surprise that the Cardinals were able to lower that number for 2022 with the updated contract.
Humphries, who was the team’s first-round pick in 2015, now gets his third contract with the team. He signed his previous extension in 2020, just prior to free agency.
Humphries had said his plan was to be a Cardinal his entire career. Humphries, who turns 29 in December, had a consecutive games streak of 47 end late last season after catching Covid.
The illness also affected him on his return, although he noted, “nobody cares about you having Covid” if you are playing.
Given the uncertainty about the offensive line beyond this season – guards Justin Pugh and Will Hernandez, along with right tackle Kelvin Beachum, are all scheduled to be free agents and center Rodney Hudson could consider retirement – locking up the left tackle was important for GM Steve Keim.
