After a tough couple of days on the injury front, the Patriots defense got some good news on Wednesday from Adam Schefter's report that the team has agreed to a two-year extension with defensive lineman Davon Godchaux. According to Schefter, the deal is worth up to $21 million and includes $16.5 million of guaranteed money.
"He's another guy who you want to reward, the players that embody or encompass what we're trying to create here from a cultural perspective," said head coach Jerod Mayo earlier in training camp. "And also, at the end of the day, it's all about wins and losses and he helps with that."
Godchaux, who was set to enter the final year of an extension he signed in 2022, had expressed his desire for a new deal but was a full participant in the early days of training camp, only missing one session due to what coach Mayo called "tightness". Following Christian Barmore's blood clots diagnosis this week, there was some added uncertainty along the team's defensive line, but retaining Godchaux ensures that their biggest piece in the middle will remain in place for the foreseeable future.
To be sure, Godchaux and Barmore are different players despite both being defensive linemen. Godchaux is a key space eater inside who takes on blockers to free up the second-level players to make plays. Barmore is more of an upfield disruptor but made significant early-down strides in his breakout 2023 season. While it's still not entirely clear how the team will make up the loss of Barmore's contributions, Godchaux's new deal ensures that replacing Barmore is the only major question that will need to be answered at defensive tackle in the coming weeks.
Godchaux will turn 30 this November and should be expected to remain an important piece of the defense in the coming seasons. Since arriving in 2021, Godchaux has not missed a game while putting together the three most productive seasons of his career. His usage has remained consistently around 60 percent, as the big tackle does the bulk of his work on early downs. Last year he was a key contributor for a Patriots run defense that ranked third in the NFL in DVOA and first overall in yards-per-attempt.
He had initially signed a two-year, $15 million deal as a free agent from the Dolphins before signing a two-year $20.8 million extension early during training camp in 2022. This now makes three contracts for Godchaux in New England.
Godchaux's deal marks the sixth multi-year contract extension handed out by the Patriots this year to internal defensive players, as he joins Barmore, Kyle Dugger, Anfernee Jennings, Jahlani Tavai and Jabrill Peppers, who was just extended in the first week of training camp.
After entering the 2024 offseason with many questions about the 2025 defensive depth chart, Eliot Wolf and the Patriots front office have aggressively secured their core at all three levels of the defense.
