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Ravens reach an extension with punter Sam Koch

The Ravens just added one more to their wolfpack. Having reached a verbal agreement to a five-year extension with punter Sam Koch.

By Matthew Stevens
Jason Bridge-USA TODAY Sports

The Ravens just added one more to their wolfpack. Having reached a verbal agreement to a five-year extension with punter Sam Koch. Details of the signing arent known at this time, but we should hear something about it later today or tomorrow morning.

There was talk during the offseason that punter Sam Koch could be a cap cut either this season or next due to a relatively high salary. The 2006 sixth round draft pick has been with the Ravens since he was drafted out of Nebraska and has had an excellent career with Baltimore.

Despite not making it to a Pro Bowl during his career, Koch has quietly been one of the best punters in the league with a career average of 45 yards per punt. In 2008, Koch led the NFL in punts inside the 10-yard line and earned a nod to the 2010 All-Fundamentals team by USA Football and the NFLPA.

Koch signed a 5-year, $12.5 million contract back before the 2011 NFL season. Despite being one of the highest paid punters in the league at that time, Koch now finds himself 13th in the NFL with an average salary of $2.5 million per year.

The Ravens have had some competition around for Koch during OTAs with the punter and kicker combo player, Justin Manton. Manton is a rookie out of Louisiana-Monroe and was able to boot the ball decently during offseason practices, but ultimately couldn't beat out one of the best legs in the league.

It's pure speculation right now, but the guess would be that the extension lowers Koch's cap number for the next few seasons while giving him more of a signing bonus to take upfront.

Edit: That didn't take long. The deal is reportedly a $4 million signing bonus and $16.25 million in new money. Added to his current contract, it would give Koch a total contract worth of 6 years, $18.75 million. This deal will put him in the top-5 of punters by almost every contract measurement.

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