The New York Jets have made significant progress with All-Pro center Nick Mangold on a contract extension, NFL Network insider Jason La Canfora reported Sunday, citing league sources.
The contract is still being hammered out, but it is expected to top the five-year, $37.5 million deal of St. Louis Rams center Jason Brown, the league's highest-paid center, according to The Star-Ledger.
"My understanding is we're close, but a deal hasn't been done," Jets coach Rex Ryan said Monday. "But I think the two sides are close."
Mangold, an elite center, is one of several Jets seeking new deals this offseason.
All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis is holding out while locked in a contract dispute with the team. Unlike Revis, Mangold has taken part in all offseason work and showed up on time for training camp.
"It doesn't seem to me to do any good to (holdout), so I'll be there with bells on," Mangold said last month on NFL Network's "NFL Total Access."
"I'm professional, I've done everything the right way, and I'm going to continue to do that -- be there for my teammates and the coaches. And we'll see how it all plays out."
Mangold is entering the final year of a five-year, $7.47 million contract that he signed as a rookie in 2006, and he's scheduled to make $3.3 million in 2010. He hasn't missed a game since being the Jets' first-round draft pick that year, and he has been chosen to the past two Pro Bowls.
The Jets locked up left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson during the offseason with a six-year extension that included $34.8 million in guaranteed money.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
