SEATTLE -- The Seattle Seahawks and wide receiver Doug Baldwin have agreed to a four-year contract extension that runs through the 2020 season.
The team confirmed the agreement on Tuesday, first reported by KIRO-AM in Seattle.
Baldwin is coming off a career season, tying for the NFL lead in touchdown receptions and setting career highs in TDs, receptions and yards receiving. It's the second extension Baldwin has signed with the Seahawks after agreeing to a three-year deal following the 2013 season. Baldwin bet on himself by agreeing to a shorter deal at the time in the hopes of cashing in down the road.
Baldwin's representatives did not immediately return messages seeking comment. His extension was a priority for the team this summer.
"It is a big deal and it's a very serious negotiation as they all are. He's done an incredible job for us and is a great teammate," coach Pete Carroll said June 16 when the Seahawks finished minicamp. "Eventually we'll get something worked out. I hope something happens. The intent is to get him signed and secured for a good while."
Baldwin finished last season with 14 touchdown receptions, tying him with Brandon Marshall and Allen Robinson for the NFL lead. He became the first Seattle wide receiver since 2007 to top 1,000 yards receiving and finished with 78 receptions. Most of those came late in the season when the connection between quarterback Russell Wilson and Baldwin was clicking at a record pace. Baldwin had 47 receptions and 12 touchdowns over the final eight games of the regular season.
Baldwin had one three-week stretch where he became the first wide receiver since Jerry Rice in 1993 with eight TDs in three games.
An undrafted rookie out of Stanford in 2011, Baldwin has developed into a premier wide receiver. He acquired the nickname "Angry Doug" because he felt slighted by not being drafted and later by analysts that criticized the talent of Seattle's wide receivers.
But he has grown into being Wilson's favorite target. In an offense that has mostly emphasized the run game, Baldwin has seen his receiving numbers increase every season despite getting fewer targets than most top wide receivers in the NFL. Baldwin's 78 receptions last season came on 103 targets, which ranked 38th in the league.
