The Jacksonville Jaguars have locked up Allen Hurns with a long-term deal.
The wideout signed a four-year extension with the Jaguars on Thursday, the team announced. According to NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport, the deal is worth $40 million and includes $20 million in guarantees with escalators that could make the deal worth up to $11 million per year, per a source involved with the pact. Hurns is now under contract through 2020.
"We are excited for Allen and his family and this is very well deserved," Jaguars General Manager Dave Caldwell said in a statement. "He is an extremely hardworking player and is so dedicated to his craft. Since the day he arrived, he's been a consummate professional and is a great representative of the Jaguars in the community. He continues to impress our coaching staff on a daily basis and has certainly earned the respect of his teammates. Our organizational philosophy is to reward our homegrown players when the opportunity presents itself. Hurnsy is a clear example of that."
Fellow second-year Jaguars wideout Allen Robinson might earn his own extension next offseason, but Hurns was eligible for a new contract sooner because he went undrafted out of the University of Miami in 2014.
Hurns is coming of a campaign that saw him pile up 1,031 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns, becoming the youngest undrafted player in NFL history to hit the 1,000-yard receiving and 10-touchdown marks. He already ranks second in franchise history in yards per reception (14.9) and has shown big-play ability from the start.
Hurns and Robinson give Jacksonville one of the league's most promising wideout duos. With Julius Thomas at tight end and Blake Bortles continuing to grow under center, the Jaguars have the makings of a potentially electric offense.
We'd be surprised to see Hurns equal his touchdown count from last season, but the new deal makes it clear the team believes he can be a central part of this attack for years to come.
