Green Bay Packers nose tackle Kenny Clark signed a lucrative four-year, $70 million extension on Saturday, making him the 12th highest-paid defensive player across the NFL.
Clark's deal is the fourth major contract extension for a defensive player signed across the league this offseason, joining Myles Garrett, Joey Bosa, and Chris Jones.
While this move doesn't necessarily impact the Washington Football Team on the surface, Clark's new deal could play a role in future contractual decisions the Burgundy and Gold have to make with a trio of their interior defensive lineman: Matt Ioannidis, Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne.
As it stands now, Washington has all three of those players under contract for the next two seasons.
Allen, Washington's first-round pick in 2017, had his fifth-year option picked up earlier this offseason. Ioannidis is entering the second season of a three-year deal he signed in March of 2019. And Payne, Washington's first-round pick in 2018, is still under contract for two more seasons, which could - and likely will - provide three more years under team control if Washington picks up his fifth-year option next offseason.
So, it's unlikely any of those players will be asking for a new deal ahead of next offseason, at the earliest.
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But next offseason is when things could start to get tricky for Washington. And it starts with Ioannidis.
Of the three interior defensive linemen, Ioannidis was Washington's best from a year ago. His 8.5 sacks were both a team-high and career-high, and his 16 quarterback hits led the team, too. Only Allen (68) had more total tackles along the defensive line, and it barely edged out Ioannidis' total (64). He was also named a Pro Bowl alternate.
With two years and less than $12 million remaining on his contract, Ioannidis' current contract is a bargain. That's just a fact.
Now, when you compare Clark and Ioannidis' stats from a season ago, they're eerily similar.
Clark: 62 tackles, 6.0 sacks, nine tackles for loss
Ioannidis: 64 tackles, 8.5 sacks, 11 tackles for loss
What's even more impressive is that Ioannidis only played 73% of Washington's defensive snaps last season, while Clark played 84% for Green Bay. If Ioannidis has another campaign in 2020 similar to the one he had a year ago, he'll almost certainly be due a massive pay upgrade before 2021. And if he doesn't get a new deal, he'll likely cash in during free agency the following offseason.
Now, let's shift the attention to Allen. The 17th overall pick in 2017 has been solid for Washington over his first three seasons, but he has yet to make the jump to being a Pro Bowl-caliber player many have expected him to be.
Allen's sack numbers took a slight dip in 2019 (6.0) from the year prior (8.0), but he did finish with a career-high 68 tackles. He's already had his fifth-year option picked up for the 2021 season, where he will make nearly $8 million more than he will earn in 2020.
So, the urge to extend Allen long-term is not pressing at the moment for Washington. But if that breakout season comes in 2020, the team will certainly feel pressure from Allen's camp to lock him up long-term in order to prevent him from hitting the open market following the 2021 season.
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For Payne, Clark's deal really doesn't impact him much. Payne still has two years remaining on his rookie deal and will likely have his fifth-year option picked up next offseason. The 2021 summer would be the earliest the two sides would begin communication on a long-term deal.
Payne, like Allen, has been solid for Washington but has yet to make that jump. While he turned in a second-straight 56-tackle season, his sacks dipped from five as a rookie to two in 2019. Even with a breakout season in 2020, it's unlikely Washington would lock him up long-term before either Ioannidis or Allen.
For Washington, there are a solid few years with all three defensive linemen under contract. Paired with Montez Sweat, Chase Young and Ryan Kerrigan on the edges, Washington has one of the best front seven's across the NFL. And besides Kerrigan, all are 26 years old or younger.
The Burgundy and Gold have multiple holes on the roster on both sides of the ball. That's no secret.
But over the next few years, the front seven has the youth and potential to take the defense to that extra level. And hopefully, for Washington fans, they are able to do that before potential expensive new contracts get in the way.
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