Chiefs Reward Succop With 5-year Extension

Tyson Jackson, Alex Magee, Donald Washington, Colin Brown, Quinten Lawrence, Javarris Williams and Jake O’Connell are the first seven players the Chiefs selected in the 2009 NFL Draft. But it’s the name at the end that is having the last laugh today.

Mr. Irrelevant himself, kicker Ryan Succop, has become not only the most productive member of his draft class, but also the first to be offered a contract extension.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Kansas City Chiefs have inked an agreement with Succop on a five-year, $14 million extension that includes a $2 million signing bonus. With the signing, Succop will finish his 2011 season happier than the way he began it.

Succop was less than impressive dating back to the start of training camp and his struggles lingered into the beginning of the regular season. Starting the season making just two of five field goal attempts, many started to question if Succop was a legitimate NFL kicker. But Succop hit five attempts in a close victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 4 and would go on to nail the next 17 in a row before being blocked by Oakland’s Richard Seymour twice last week.

Although 2011 has been arguably Succop’s best as a professional, the writing was on the wall for his success since the beginning. In his rookie season, Succop made 25 field goals, four more than legendary Chiefs kicker Jan Stenerud made as a rookie.

Kansas City has a rich history of great kickers including Stenerud, Pete Stoyanovich, Morten Anderson, and of course Nick Lowery. With the five-year extension, Succop has a chance to have his name listed right along with the rest.

If Succop continues to progress, or even simply remains with his status quo, he is on pace to kick over 200 field goals before his contract expires. This would put him third on the Chiefs’ all-time list behind Stenerud’s 279 and Lowery’s 329.

Succop has been as consistent as any player on Kansas City’s roster this season during a year identified by inconsistency. When paired with punter Dustin Colquitt, the Chiefs will boast one of the best kicker/punter tandems in the NFL.