How Quentin Lake's 3-year, $42M deal with the Rams impacts Eagles DB Reed Blankenship

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Reed Blankenship has become a critical cog in the Eagles' Super Bowl history, and he's continuing to add honors to his resume. Blankenship joined the Eagles as an undrafted free agent out of Middle Tennessee State and played his first two seasons at the NFL's minimum salary before earning escalators and a one-year extension.

Now a Super Bowl champion and one of the best young safeties in the NFL, Blankenship is in the final year of his contract and could secure a lucrative long-term extension. Looking for the best deal, Blankenship quietly switched agents and signed with Athlete's First, most famous for David Dunn and David Mulugheta. Mulugheta recently negotiated the record-breaking contract extension Micah Parsons signed with Green Bay after being dealt by Dallas to the Packers for two first-round picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark.

The baselines are being set, and Josh Metellus initially helped Blankenship's cause with a three-year, $36 million contract from the Vikings.

Blankenship now has an even higher baseline after the Rams announced on Thursday that they had signed fourth-year safety Quentin Lake to a three-year contract extension, ensuring he will not hit the open market this spring. The deal is worth $42 million with $25.7 million guaranteed, according to the Los Angeles Daily News.

“It’s something that you dream of,” Lake said. “I think the coolest thing about it was seeing the reaction from teammates.”

Lake, a 2022 sixth-round pick, is in the final season of his rookie contract and had played every defensive snap of the season for the Rams before sustaining an elbow dislocation in Week 11. In 10 games this season, Lake had one interception, 10 passes defended, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, a sack, and 61 total tackles.

According to Over The Cap, the $14 million per season average puts Blake among the top 12 highest-paid at his position.

Blankenship logged 78 tackles (52 solo), six pass defenses (including four interceptions), and one fumble recovery in 15 regular-season games in 2024. Blankenship improved during the playoffs, logging 27 tackles (18 solo), one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery during the Eagles ' four-game run to the Super Bowl.

This season, Blankenship's 1009 snaps at safety are 10th in the NFL, but his 46.5 overall grade from PFF is 92nd out of 98 safeties in the NFL. His 32.7 grade in coverage is 96th out of 98 at the position.

Blankenship signed a one-year, $3.58 million contract extension with the Eagles last April after leading the team in tackles and interceptions.

Blankenship could be in line for another, more lucrative contract extension.

This article originally appeared on Eagles Wire: Quentin Lake signs three-year, $42M contract extension with Rams

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