Cardinals and S Jalen Thompson agree to 3-year extension worth nearly $40M

As Pelissero mentioned in his report, Thompson was a fifth-round selection by the Cardinals in the 2019 NFL supplemental draft. For the uninitiated, the supplemental draft is held for players whose eligibility status changed after the deadline to be part of the regular NFL draft pool. The event runs for seven rounds and teams making picks have to forfeit the same pick in the following regular draft whenever they make a supplemental selection. So, for Thompson to go from a supplemental pick to a player guaranteed to make $24.5 million is pretty impressive.

But impressive is the season Thompson had last year. After having his season ended early due to a leg injury following just five games in 2020, Thompson came back with a vengeance last season. Playing in 17 games and taking over the starting spot in the final 12. In those games, the Californian racked up an outstanding 121 total tackles (79 solos), three interceptions, seven passes defended and two quarterback hits.

• Jalen Thompson stats (2021): 121 total tackles (79 solo), 3 interceptions, 7 passes defended, 2 quarterback hits

In locking up Thompson for several more seasons the Cardinals may have a Pro Bowl-caliber safety at an average of just $13.3 million annually.