Gerald McCoy Extension Sets Market for DTs Ndamukong Suh, Marcell Dareus

On Saturday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and star defensive tackle Gerald McCoy reached an agreement on a new seven-year contract extension that will keep the former Oklahoma standout under contract through 2021.

The deal was first reported by Jay Glazer of Fox Sports:

Since arriving in Tampa via the third overall pick in the 2010 draft, McCoy has established himself as one of the game's most dominant interior defenders (Pro Bowler in 2012, 2013) and a piece upon which the franchise can continue to build.

Therefore, the news that McCoy will be sticking around for a while should comfort Bucs fans who have suffered through the team's 1-5 start to the 2014 season. 

In addition to those fans, the deal also holds importance for other teams around the league who are staring at pending negotiations with their own premier defensive tackles. The most notable teams in that group are the Detroit Lions and the Buffalo Bills.

The Lions, of course, feature the supremely talented and often controversial Ndamukong Suh on the defensive line, while the Bills boast the services of one Marcell Dareus. 

Suh, picked one spot before McCoy in the 2010 draft, has been named to three Pro Bowls. Dareus, the third overall pick in 2011, appeared in his first Pro Bowl a season ago. Dareus is under contract through 2015, while Suh's contract includes a player option so he can end his deal shortly after this season's Super Bowl.

Thanks to McCoy's new deal, Suh and Dareus now have a standard with which to negotiate.

According to NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport, McCoy's contract will pay him up to $98 million (the base salary is a reported $95.2 million) with $51.5 million guaranteed.

That gives McCoy an average salary of nearly $14 million and will make him the highest-paid defensive tackle in league history, per CBS Sports' NFL Insider Jason La Canfora:

Suh and Dareus can likely expect to command a deal similar to McCoy's because all three bring a similar impact to the playing field. 

According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), McCoy ranks as the league's top defensive tackle this season, while Dareus comes in at No. 4 and Suh at No. 7. 

Of course, there are a few reasons why Suh and Dareus could see even bigger numbers than McCoy when all is said and done. 

	Games	Tackles	Sacks	Forced Fumbles
Gerald McCoy	56	136	20.5	3	11
Ndamukong Suh	69	206	31	2	13
Marcell Dareus	55	179	25.5	2	12

The first reason is the simple fact that sports agents tend to target a deal for their player that trumps the last one signed by a premier player at the same position. Not only should it feel good to be able to say you got your guy a historical deal but it is good for business.

Carlos Osorio/Associated Press

The second reason is that McCoy has shown some durability concerns. He has missed a total of 14 games in his four-plus years in the league, while Suh has missed just two and Dareus has yet to miss a game.

The last, and perhaps most important, reason that McCoy could soon see his contract eclipsed by another is that Suh and Dareus may find themselves negotiating on the open market.

According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, the Lions have put contract talks with Suh on hold until the end of the regular season.

At that point, it would make a lot of sense for Suh to at least test the free-agent waters and see just how high he can drive his contract numbers. Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, Suh is keen to play for a bigger market team.

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Suh has told people in the past that he would love to play in New York, and the idea of it has huge appeal to him, league sources said.

If he were to take his talents to New York, either to the Jets or Giants, Suh knows how much it would mean for his brand and his profile, and it is something that if he hits the free-agent market this winter, when his contract is up, he will explore.

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Dareus, on the other hand, may find his way to free agency for an entirely different reason. The Bills already have a ton of money invested in defensive end Mario Williams, who will earn $35 million in base salary alone over the next three years. 

Buffalo will have to determine just how heavily it wants to fund its defensive line before Dareus' current contract expires. A deal similar to McCoy's would mean that $25 million of Buffalo's salary would go toward a pair of defensive linemen. 

Buffalo may be able to restructure Williams' deal, of course, and still has another year to decide exactly what to do. This makes the situation surrounding Detroit and Suh the more pressing one.

The bottom line, however, is that both Dareus and Suh are in line for a sizable payday in the near future—barring injury or unexpected circumstance. Because of the deal struck between McCoy and the Buccaneers, we have a good idea of just how sizable those deals could be.