Thursday 17 October 2019 10:02, UK
Tight end Darren Waller has signed a multi-year extension with the Oakland Raiders.
According to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, the contract will run through the 2023 season, eating up what would have been a restricted free agent year in 2020 and then paying Waller about $9m (£6.9m) per season for the three seasons after that.
The Baltimore Ravens drafted Waller in the sixth round out of Georgia Tech in 2015, but he struggled to get playing time and served a pair of suspensions for violating the league's substance-abuse policy - the second spanning all of the 2017 season.
After opening the 2018 season on the Ravens' practice squad, Waller was signed by the Raiders and played in four games last season, catching six balls for 75 yards.
This summer, he was one of the stars of the TV show "Hard Knocks," with the show spending several segments talking about Waller's past troubles with substance abuse. He reached two years sober during camp.
Through five games this season, Waller has 37 catches for 359 yards - both far and away his best marks in any season.
Among NFL tight ends, he currently ranks second in receptions and sixth in receiving yards. He entered this season with 18 catches for 178 yards and two touchdowns in 22 career games (four starts).
"I'm gonna give you all I got," Waller told Raider Nation in a video the team posted to Twitter on Wednesday night.
