Though he couldn’t seem to block Von Miller or DeMarcus Ware in the Super Bowl, the Carolina Panthers signed left tackle Michael Oher to a three-year extension Friday. The contract is worth $21.6 million with $9.5 million guaranteed.
#Panthers OT Michael Oher signed a 3 year contract extension worth $21.6M in new money averaging $7.2M with $9.5M guaranteed, source said
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) June 17, 2016
Oher was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the first round of the 2009 draft and played both right and left tackle for them, picking up a Super Bowl ring in the 2012-13 season. He played a year with the Tennessee Titans before signing with the Panthers last offseason. They liked him enough to keep him locked up until 2019.
Oher, of course, was the subject of the movie The Blind Side starring Sandra Bullock and Quinton Aaron as Oher. Here’s the trailer to help you remember.
Now don’t you feel all inspired after that?
Bullock got an Oscar for her portrayal of Leigh Anne Tuohy. Aaron got a B-Movie career and Oher got a hard time from his peers. That continued when the contract deal was announced.
— Mike Remmers (@mremmers75) June 17, 2016
https://twitter.com/ryankalil/status/743801834821804032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— Trai Turner (@trai_turner) June 17, 2016
Oher made his own announcement on Twitter, then made sure to call out his teammates that posted gave him some Blind Side grief.
@Mremmers74 @ryankalil @trai_turner I see why Norwell is always in the B gap he is the only one loves me smh😂😂
— Michael Oher (@MichaelOher) June 17, 2016
So easy to grind with this group of guys! genuine love!
— Michael Oher (@MichaelOher) June 17, 2016
And looked who popped up to give her approval.
Well played @Mremmers74 👍🏻 https://t.co/MUSPfpmNeD
— Leigh Anne Tuohy (@LeighAnneTuohy) June 17, 2016
Oher and the movie have had a rocky relationship. He’s publicly stated it’s a reason the general public looks down on him as a football player.
“That’s taken away from my football,” Oher told ESPN last year. “That’s why people criticize me. That’s why people look at me every single play.”
Back when he was with the Ravens, he was asked about the movie all the time, especially in the lead up to the Super Bowl.
“I’m tired of that movie,” Oher said then. “I’m here to play football.”
Oher joined the Panthers on a two-year, $7 million deal before last season.
Oher wasn’t the only member of the Carolina Panthers family to cash a new big, fat check over the last day or two. Thursday the Panthers signed head coach Ron Rivera to a one-year extension that raises his annual pay to $6 million a season.
#Panthers coach Ron Rivera had his old deal torn up & signed a new 3-yr contract worth $19.5M, per source. $3M more available in incentives
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) June 16, 2016
That makes Rivera one of the 10 highest paid coaches in the NFL. The Panthers, of course, went 15-1 last season and made it all the way to the Super Bowl before losing to the Denver Broncos. Rivera is 47-32-1 in his time with the Panthers and has a 6-3 playoff record. He’s also been named Coach of the year twice, in 2013 and 2015.
Rams say Keenum is No. 1… for now
The Rams traded a fortune to trade up to the No. 1 pick in April’s draft to select quarterback Jared Goff out of California, but according to head coach Jeff Fisher, they’re in no hurry to name him the starting quarterback.
“We’ll start him when he’s ready,” Fisher told reporters after practice Thursday. “I didn’t say that to imply he was going to start the opener. I’ve said we have options. He could start anywhere from the opener to whenever. We haven’t changed our philosophy on that. We’re gonna coach him to be successful and not going to put him in with a chance to fail”
Apparently, Case Keenum could be the favorite to start Week 1 of the #NFL season for the @RamsNFL! pic.twitter.com/XddoLcb2bF
— FullTime Fantasy (@FullTimeFantasy) June 17, 2016
So it looks like heading into training camp it’ll be Case Keenum who will be given the chance to fail. Fisher did make it clear that both Keenum and Goff will work with the first-team offense. And we’ll get to see all of it unfold on HBO’s Hard Knocks this season.
Last year Keenum went 3-1 as a starter for the Rams, completed 60.8 percent of his passes for 828 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. His one loss was one of the worst losses for the team of the year in the season finale against the Jim Tomsula-led San Francisco 49ers. It’s an albatross that Keenum should have to wear all offseason.
Bears get bad news on Wilson
Mandatory minicamps seem to be taking their toll on player health even though the collective bargaining rule was supposed to make them safer. This week is was Bears wide receiver Marquess Wilson, who broke his left foot in a practice. He’ll have to have surgery to fix it.
Wilson is coming off his best season as a pro. Last year he caught 28 passes for 464 yards and a touchdown, averaging 16.6 yards per catch. With last year’s first-round pick Kevin White finally hitting the field along with Alshon Jeffry and Eddie Royal, Wilson could have been a nice deep threat addition to that crew. Now he may not be ready to play when the season begins in September.
