The Patriots have agreed to a five-year extension with tight end Aaron Hernandez, which will keep the third-year pro in New England through the 2018 season.
ESPN was first to report the agreement between the two sides.Terms of the deal have deal have not yet been disclosed.
Locking up Hernandez early means that the Patriots will have one of the game's most dynamic tight end tandem's for the foreseeable future. The team signed Rob Gronkowski to a six-year, 54 million extension this summer that will keep him in a Patriots uniform through the 2019 season.
The move to extend Hernandez's contract also means the Patriots can avoid what may have been complicated negotiations when his rookie deal was set to expire after the 2013 season. Though Hernandez was drafted as a tight end, he could have made a case to be classified as a receiver during those negotiations. Since the franchise tag for receivers is significantly more expensive than it is for tight ends, the question of his position would have loomed over contract talks had the Patriots tried to franchise him.
A fourth-round pick out of Florida in 2010, Hernandez has made 124 catches for 1,473 and 13 touchdowns in his first two seasons in New England. He will turn 23 in November.