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The Kansas City Chiefs have reached an agreement with veteran quarterback Damon Huard on a three-year extension that takes him off the unrestricted market and further dilutes the pool of players who will be available at the position when the free-agency signing period begins on Friday.
Financial details were not immediately available on Huard's new deal, but it clearly represents a substantial raise. Huard earned a base salary of $710,000 in 2006, the NFL minimum for a player of his tenure.
"Damon had an excellent year in 2006 and contributed directly to getting our team to the playoffs," Chiefs general manager Carl Peterson said in a release. "Damon is an excellent veteran player and an outstanding person. We're delighted to have him under contract."
The extension provides much-needed security for the Chiefs, who must decide in the offseason about the future of incumbent starter Trent Green, who missed half the 2006 campaign with a head injury. Even when healthy, Green wasn't nearly as effective in 2006 working in a new offense, and, at age 36, is probably nearing the end of his career.
Kansas City may increasingly look to second-year veteran Brodie Croyle, the team's third-round choice in the 2006 draft, as its quarterback of the future. But securing the services of Huard, who probably would have generated interest in the free-agent market, provides stability on the depth chart.