Happy national left tackle extension day. Not long after the Titans announced a massive extension making Taylor Lewan the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history, the Falcons have agreed to terms on a deal that will lock down left tackle Jake Matthews. According to a report from Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, the deal is worth a total of $75 million. Like Lewan, Matthews was taken in the 2014 NFL Draft (Matthews was the No. 6 overall pick, Lewan No. 11). His new deal will give him the third-highest total valuation for all left tackles, behind only Tyron Smith ($97.6 million) and Lewan ($80 million). Matthews has been a steady presence as the blind-side protector for Matt Ryan over the past four years and, like Lewan, is an upper-tier left tackle who is in his prime. Matthews turned 26 after the end of the 2018 season and is part of a young core the Falcons are building out in hopes of making another run at the Super Bowl. Atlanta has been busy this offseason too. First, the Falcons inked Ryan to a record-setting $150 million deal that made him the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL. Recently, the Falcons did whatever was necessary in order to get Julio Jones some kind of "adjustment" that would get him happy and into training camp after an awkward situation that was unfolding in an ugly fashion. The Falcons even handed out extensions to GM Thomas Dimitroff and coach Dan Quinn. They're probably not done either, with defensive tackle Grady Jarrett looming as a player who needs some more cash relatively soon.<doc-sep>After renegotiating Julio Jones' contract on Thursday, the Atlanta Falcons locked up another key cog in their offense on Friday morning by signing left tackle Jake Matthews to a five-year, $75 million contract extension. Matthews' deal came less than an hour after the Titans extended fellow tackle Taylor Llewan to a contract worth $80 million. Atlanta's left tackle now holds the third richest offensive tackle contract by average annual value. He only trails Llewan and the Nate Solder of the New York Giants. Matthews was selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft and has made 63 starts in four seasons. In that span, Atlanta has ranked in the top half of the league in points per game three times and led the league in 2016 en route to the NFC crown.<doc-sep>Taylor Lewan just got a 5 year, $80 million deal this morning, Somewhat predictably, the Falcons are hot on the heels of that deal with an extension for Jake Matthews that comes in juuust shy of the record-setting numbers in Lewan’s deal, per Ian Rapoport. The Falcons just confirmed the signing: We have agreed to terms with Jake Matthews on a 5-year extension. STORY: https://t.co/jgkGrbc8Sz pic.twitter.com/1a5JG7dFF9 — Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) July 27, 2018 As Rapoport notes, this makes Matthews one of the three highest-paid tackles in the NFL. After a brutal rookie season, Matthews has settled in between good and great, and he’s coming off one of his finest seasons in the NFL. The #Falcons and star LT Jake Matthews are finalizing a 5-year, $75M deal, source said. Atlanta has a young core to pay, and Matthews gets the first crack as a top 3-paid LT. — Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 27, 2018 The value Matthews getting less than Lewan is fair, even if the gap between the two players is somewhere been small and nonexistent. Throw out the Pro Bowls for Lewan, because the Pro Bowl is largely a popularity contest, and you have two players who grade out very similarly on a year-to-year basis. Lewan is the super pass protection option, but Matthews is probably a better run blocker, and Matthews is still young enough that his best football might be ahead of him. Chances are the tackle market will start to blow up shortly after this, so the Falcons have savvily gotten a deal done that may look relatively cheap in a couple of seasons, assuming Matthews stays healthy and plays at a high level. With Andy Levitre potentially finishing up his last year in Atlanta, Alex Mack aging, and Brandon Fusco serving as a stopgap option at right guard for the next couple of seasons, it’s important for Atlanta to have their bookend tackles locked up. It sounds like they’ll have it done soon. What’s ahead and why Matthews has been one of the most divisive players since his rookie year, when injury and ineffectiveness soured a lot of fans on his play. Since then, Matthews has generally turned in good years with some genuine susceptibility to speed rushers and the occasional truly ugly missed block. He’s been a big part of the team’s success running the football and is coming off a 2017 when he was ranked as the #14 tackle in football by Pro Football Focus, putting together one of his finest seasons in pass protection. He’s just 26 years old, which means this extension should carry him into his early 30s and cover his prime. Matthews probably needs to be a bit better to truly justify the numbers in this extension—though we haven’t seen the structure yet—but he’s certainly in the same neighborhood as Lewan and is set to earn less money than him in this reported extension. Pass protection will continue to be the biggest area of potentially improvement for him. For those in the “the Falcons shouldn’t have paid Matthews crowd,” please understand the why here. Getting quality tackles has never (or at least rarely) been more difficult than it is today, with a steep learning curve for linemen who aren’t necessarily learning NFL blocking schemes at the collegiate level. The Falcons could have saved a lot of money by letting Matthews go, but there’s a very strong chance the player they would have snagged to replace him would have been a significant downgrade, and it’s not worth doing that for a team that is a genuine playoff contender on paper for the next few seasons. Plus, when Nate Solder is getting more money than you and playing at a lower level, the contract’s easy enough to justify. In summary Matthews is not an elite tackle, but he’s a very good one, he’s still quite young, and the Falcons managed to work out a deal that (while certainly expensive) may not look so bad in a year or two once the flurry of tackle extensions happens. As the team tries to keep their core together and keep that Super Bowl window open, I’m certainly happy with the numbers on first blush. Matthews just needs to stay healthy and keep (or improve upon) his 2017 form and this will be a fine contract.<doc-sep>
It’s a good time to be a standout offensive tackle in the NFL. The Atlanta Falcons announced Friday morning that they have agreed to terms on a long-term extension with Jake Matthews. The deal spans five years, the team said. The Falcons did not reveal any financial details, but multiple outlets are reporting that Matthews’ new contract is worth a total of $75 million with $50 million guaranteed. Atlanta Falcons offensive tackle Jake Matthews (70) sets to block against the Dallas Cowboys during an NFL football game, Sunday, November 12, 2017, in Atlanta. The Falcons won 27-7. (Jeff Haynes/AP Images for Panini) Where does Matthews’ contract rank among NFL tackles? News of Matthews’ contract emerged about an hour after the Tennessee Titans announced a long-term deal with Taylor Lewan. Lewan’s deal, a reported five-year, $80 million agreement, makes him the highest-paid tackle in the league at $16 million per year. Matthews isn’t too far behind. At $15 million annually, the Texas A&M product slots in at No. 3 behind Lewan and Nate Solder, who signed a four-year, $62 million free agent deal with the New York Giants after spending his first seven seasons with the New England Patriots. Why did the Falcons extend Jake Matthews’ contract? Matthews was Atlanta’s first-round pick (No. 6 overall) in 2014. He was chosen to solidify the left tackle spot, protecting Matt Ryan’s blindside. After some initial struggles, has done just that, starting all 63 games he has played in his NFL career. With the Julio Jones contract situation dealt with for the time being, it was important for Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff to take care of Matthews ahead of the 2018 season. Next on the agenda are two other young talents: defensive tackle Grady Jarrett and safety Ricardo Allen. At training camp on Thursday, Dimitroff told reporters that the team is working toward securing agreements with both players. More from Yahoo Sports: • LeBron Jr.’s basketball game cancelled amid security concerns • Red Sox manager ticked at Orioles’ postponing game Boston led 5-0 • Kevin Durant’s latest social media feud: McCollum called him soft • Conor McGregor reaches plea deal in NYC assault case