Strong safety Adrian Wilson has agreed to a four-year contract extension with the Arizona Cardinals, NFL.com and NFL Network reporter Albert Breer confirmed Tuesday, citing a source with knowledge of the situation.
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Mike Jurecki of KGME-AM was the first to report Wilson's new deal.
The extension wipes out the two years remaining on Wilson's prior deal and keeps the defender under contract in Arizona through 2015, per Breer. The Cardinals later announced the deal and said it had been signed.
It shows support for 32-year-old Wilson, but the motivation here is salary-cap relief. The terms of the contract haven't been released, but Kent Somers of The Arizona Republic expects Wilson to take a pay cut. The 11-year NFL veteran had $17 million left on the $36.5 million contract that he signed in 2009.
Wilson's play fell off toward the end of last season, and the Cardinals -- while looking to keep their star in house -- aren't interested in overpaying for an aging safety.
He isn't the player he once was, but Wilson showed grit in 2011, playing through a partially torn bicep. He hasn't missed a start since 2008, and remains one of Arizona's more durable players. The Cardnials have an interesting young defense that played with passion at the end of last season. This ensures one of its core pieces will remain on the roster for years to come.