The Carolina Panthers have signed center Ryan Kalil to a two-year contract extension, the team announced Monday. Kalil is now under contract with Carolina through the 2018 season.
“Ryan is still playing at an extremely high level and was very deservedly an All-Pro again in 2015,” general manager Dave Gettleman said. “The other part of this is that Ryan is a great leader. In 2014, he was instrumental in keeping that offensive line group together. That group had a lot of young players and there were moving parts because of injuries, but Ryan helped them maintain their confidence and that was a big part of us winning five of our last six games. On and off the field, Ryan is a pro’s pro and we’re all very excited about this.”
In 2015, Kalil was named to his fifth Pro Bowl, tied for the most in Panthers history. He was previously named to the Pro Bowl in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013. Last season, Kalil also earned All-Pro honors for the third time in his career as his efforts helped Carolina win an NFC Championship and set team records with an NFL-leading 500 points and 59 touchdowns and gain a team-record 357 first downs. A team-captain, Kalil led an offensive line that opened holes for Carolina to rank second in the NFL with 142.6 rushing yards per game.
“This team, this franchise, it’s part of my family,” Kalil said. “I’m blessed to be able to finish my career here. I couldn’t ask for anything more. It’s just an incredible organization from the top down.”
Kalil played collegiately at Southern California and has spent his entire nine-year NFL career with the Panthers since being drafted by the team in the second round (59th overall) of the 2007 NFL Draft. Kalil has played in 118 regular season games with 115 starts, the second-most all-time for a Panthers offensive lineman behind Jordan Gross’s 167 games played and started from 2003-13.
“This extension gives Ryan a chance to finish his career in Carolina which I think is tremendous,” head coach Ron Rivera said. “It also keeps continuity on the offensive line. He’s a leader on this football team and he’s a man of tremendously high character, the type of guy you want in the locker room.”
Since Kalil became a full-time starter in 2008, the Panthers lead the NFL with 17,621 rushing yards. He is part of a Carolina offense that has produced a team-record 27 consecutive regular season games with at least 100 rushing yards, the longest active streak in the NFL.
