Giants News: David Mayo Agrees to New Contract for Reported 3 Years

David Mayo is staying in New York. 

The linebacker agreed to a contract extension with the Giants on Friday, pending a physical, only a few days before he was set to become a free agent March 18.

The Athletic's Dan Duggan reported Mayo's deal is for three years. 

Mayo finished the 2019 season with 82 combined tackles, two sacks and one fumble recovery. 

It's been a long road for Mayo. A 2015 fifth-round pick out of Texas State, he spent his first four seasons with the Carolina Panthers, playing more than 13 percent of defensive snaps just once while mostly remaining a special teams threat. 

When he got to New York in 2019, Mayo not only played 57 percent of defensive snaps, but he also started 13 games. His special teams usage (58 percent) dropped to the lowest snap count since his rookie season. The change allowed him to tap into his potential as a linebacker, and he began making his presence felt on opposing offenses. 

Mayo tallied more combined tackles in one season than he did in four years with the Panthers. According to Pro Football Focus, Mayo had the second-highest grade among all linebackers in run defense. 

Which makes it all the more interesting that the man who drafted Mayo in Carolina, Dave Gettleman, now holds the same position with the Giants. 

The Giants are entering the next stage of their rebuild this offseason, and the three-year deal suggests they consider Mayo part of the core that can help them make the postseason for the first time since 2016.

Terms of Mayo's contract have yet to be disclosed, but the Giants are expected to have the fifth-most salary-cap space in the league at $77.8 million, per Spotrac.