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Much like last year, it appears that the Detroit Lions have quietly given safety Don Carey a contract extension. It's unclear when this extension was signed, but NFLPA records show that Carey is now under contract for three more years. He was originally set to become a free agent in 2014, but now he's under contract through 2016.
Per the NFLPA records, Carey is set to make the minimum in each of the next three seasons. His salary for 2014 is $730,000, and he will get a slight raise up to $745,000 in 2015. Once again, he will get a $15,000 raise in 2016, giving him a base salary of $760,000.
Why did the Lions feel the need to give Carey another extension? Clearly they believe he is a valuable special teams player and backup in the secondary. He played in 14 games for the Lions in 2013, and he recorded 30 tackles, 2 pass defenses and 1 forced fumble.
Most of Carey's time in 2013 was spent on special teams. He received an overall grade of -1.0 from Pro Football Focus for his special teams work, and he got a -7.6 grade for his defensive play. Carey came into the season as Louis Delmas' backup at safety, but most of his playing time on defense came toward the end of the season when the Lions needed help at nickelback.
