Danny Trevathan won't be a free agent when the new league year commences in under a week.
The linebacker agreed to terms with the Chicago Bears on a three-year extension through 2022, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Thursday night. The team confirmed the signing Friday.
Trevathan's deal is worth $21.75 million in base value and includes $14 million guaranteed, Rapoport added Friday.
Trevathan was slated to become an unrestricted free agent after playing out a four-year deal signed with the Bears in 2016, the last time the linebacker hit the market. He was listed as No. 88 on NFL.com's Top 101 free agents list at the time of his new deal.
Fewer than two weeks away from turning 30 years old, Trevathan will now man the middle of Chicago's defense for the next three years. In his first four seasons as a Bear, Trevathan played 46 games and started in 45, racking up six sacks and 327 tackles. He played nine games and recorded one sack last season, missing nearly half the campaign with a left elbow injury.
Trevathan will return to a Bears defense that ranked fourth in points allowed and eighth in yards allowed last season, but regressed from its league-leading performance in 2018.
Next season, Trevathan will continue to play alongside Roquan Smith in the middle of the defense and be flanked by edge rusher Khalil Mack and Leonard Floyd, as the Bears seek to return to the postseason after a year away. However, he's now unlikely to be joined by Nick Kwiatkoski, an impending free agent (No. 66 available) and Chicago's fourth-leading tackler in 2019.