Tyrann Mathieu Worth Every Guaranteed Dollar of New Deal with Cardinals

Tyrann Mathieu has come a long way in a short time in the NFL—from a risky third-round pick in the 2013 NFL draft to arguably the best defensive back in the NFL.

The Arizona Cardinals made sure on Tuesday that there won’t be any contract-year drama with Mathieu, and while the Redbirds just sank a lot of guaranteed money into a player who already has two ACL tears, it’s hard to argue that Mathieu isn’t worth every penny.

As ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted, the Cardinals have agreed to terms with Mathieu on a five-year, $62.5 million extension that includes a whopping $40 million in guarantees:

Cardinals and S Tyrann “Honey Badger” Mathieu reached agreement on 5-year, $62.5 million agreement that includes $40M gtd, per sources.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 2, 2016

It’s a deal that makes Mathieu easily the NFL’s highest-paid safety, per Spotrac, and as Cardinals beat reporter Mike Juercki pointed out, the guaranteed money Mathieu received dwarfs every other player at the position:

Tyrann Mathieu $40M GTD… Most guaranteed money among current safety contracts Harrison Smith (Vikings) at $28.6M. per @ESPNStatsInfo

— Mike Jurecki (@mikejurecki) August 2, 2016

Of course, Mathieu isn’t really a safety. Moving all over the secondary for the Cardinals, Mathieu is every bit as apt to line up as a cornerback as he is to slot behind one. In fact, when issuing its player grades for 2015, Pro Football Focus graded Mathieu as a cornerback.

A cornerback who received the highest grade in the league (28.1) at the position by a large margin.

When NFL.com conducted its recent “summer games” breakdown of the NFL’s best players at each position, however, Mathieu was slotted with the safeties.

Once again, he was recognized as being the very best in the NFL at what he does, with Eric Davis writing, “Honey Badger can line up anywhere on the field, across from any player.”

What makes Mathieu so hard to …

continue reading in source www.bleacherreport.com