NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Feb. 16, 2006) -- The Tennessee Titans reached an agreement with defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch on a multiyear deal that will keep him off the free-agent market.
The move comes a year after the team took a gamble by signing him to a one-year deal, and he responded with a career-high 12 1/2 sacks.
Vanden Bosch earned the veteran's minimum of $540,000 in a one-year deal for 2005 after four injury-plagued seasons in Arizona. Terms and the length of the deal weren't immediately available. The Titans scheduled a news conference for Feb. 17.
The defensive end ranked fourth in the NFL in sacks in 2005, and his 12½ sacks were the best in a season for the Titans since 1999, when Jevon Kearse set an NFL rookie record with 14½.
"We're very pleased to have Kyle here for the next several years," general manager Floyd Reese said in a statement.
"Last season he exemplified himself as an important part of our defense through his work ethic and intensity on and off the field. It helps us to get something worked out with him before free agency, and I think both parties in this case were able to accomplish what they wanted with the deal."
Vanden Bosch didn't answer calls to his home. Messages for his agent, Tony Agnone, weren't immediately returned.
The defensive end played the run well, rarely coming off the field and finishing with 100 tackles, ranking second on the team. He was the first defensive lineman in the franchise to hit the mark since 1986, when Ray Childress and Richard Byrd did.
Vanden Bosch also had eight quarterback pressures, four forced fumbles and recovered one fumble.
As an injury replacement for Miami's Jason Taylor in the Pro Bowl, Vanden Bosch had a game-high two sacks with two pressures and three tackles for the AFC.
The 34th pick overall in 2001 by Arizona, Vanden Bosch tore the ACL in each knee in different seasons, limiting him to 35 games in four seasons and five career sacks. That attracted the attention of only three or four teams last spring, and Vanden Bosch signed with the Titans.
