Veteran strong safety George Iloka will reportedly sign a five-year deal worth $30 million to stay with the Cincinnati Bengals.
According to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, four-year NFL veteran strong safety George Iloka will re-sign with the Cincinnati Bengals, agreeing to a five-year deal worth up to $30 million.
For #Bengals and S George Iloka, it's a done deal. 5 years, $30M with $18M over the first 3 years. Cincy players often play them all out.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 9, 2016
Rapoport also points out that most Bengals players do end up playing out the life of their contracts. So expect Iloka to play his first nine NFL seasons all with the Bengals in the AFC North. The Bengals have done a great job recently of drafting and retaining their players when they hit free agency.
In the last three seasons, Iloka has been a starter in Cincinnati’s defense at strong safety. He has started 44 games for the Bengals since the 2013 NFL season and plans to do the same for the next five years in Southern Ohio.
Iloka has 5 career interceptions, 20 pass deflections and 128 solo tackles. Cincinnati’s defense has been a huge reason the Bengals have made the playoffs for five straight seasons, with Iloka right in the middle of it.
While the Bengals have ultimately come up short in winning any postseason game under head coach Marvin Lewis (0-7), it seems that the Bengals organization loves the core of the culture they are building.
Cincinnati has one of the deepest rosters in the entire NFL, and with a bit more poise in prime time games, should be able to play in AFC Championship Games the next few years. By deciding to bring back Iloka for five more years on a fairly priced deal, it means that the Bengals shouldn’t have to worry about strong safety for the next half decade. Iloka has that position covered.
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