Seahawks ink Doug Baldwin to 4-year extension

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin has signed a four-year contract extension, the team confirmed on Tuesday. Baldwin’s deal will keep him under contract through 2020 and is worth $46 million, including $24 million guaranteed, according to Adam Caplan.

Baldwin, 27, is entering his sixth season in the league, and is coming off his first 1,000-yard receiving season last year. Undrafted in 2011, Baldwin exceeded 700 yards in three of his other four seasons, but finally hit the 1,000-yard mark when he became a consistent game-changing receiver for quarterback Russell Wilson.

Career highs in catches (78), yards (1,069) and touchdowns (14) were the highlights of last season. He played in all 16 games and was tied for the NFL lead in touchdown receptions.

Baldwin was entering the final year of his contract this season, but with big contracts awarded to Allen Hurns of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Keenan Allen of the San Diego Chargers, there was enough information out there for the Seahawks and Baldwin to come to terms on his value going forward.

Seattle has had contract issues in recent years, from a long standstill with Wilson before giving him his big deal to safety Kam Chancellor holding out for two games — both losses — last season. But Seattle has done a great job of keeping the band together, so to speak.

Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman both got taken care of with long-term deals, securing the Legion of Boom’s core. Chancellor hasn’t got his big extension yet, but he has already announced that he has no plans to hold out this season. Though it may have been overlooked, the Seahawks have also given extensions to their top kicker, punter and long snapper in the past three seasons.

Baldwin is just another cog in the machine that is Pete Carroll’s Seahawks. He’s an important cog though, and should be Wilson’s top target next season and for years to come with this new extension.