On the eve of the 2022 NFL regular season, Rams general manager Les Snead is making one more in-house move before his team officially begins its title defense. The Rams announced a long-term contract extension for Rob Havenstein that will reportedly make him one of the NFL‘s 10 highest-paid right tackles.
Havenstein is entering his eighth season with the Rams after being selected in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft. The 30-year-old lineman has started in each of his 99 career regular-season games. He also has 10 playoff starts under his belt that include two Super Bowl games. Havenstein’s pass protection helped the Rams defeat the Bengals in Super Bowl LVI.
Prior to joining the Rams, Havenstein enjoyed a standout career at Wisconsin, where he was a unanimous All-American as a senior in 2014. The previous season, Havenstein helped the Badgers set a school record for total offense with an average of nearly 481 total yards per game. He blocked for three 1,000-yard rushers at Wisconsin in Melvin Gordon, Montee Ball and James White.
Havenstein’s extension will likely pay him a minimum of $10 million annually. The Saints‘ Ryan Ramczyk is the NFL’s highest-paid right tackle at $19.2 million a year. The league’s five highest-paid right tackles each make over $17 million annually, while the top nine highest-paid right tackles take home at least $9 million per year.
The Rams will kick off the regular season Thursday night against the Buffalo Bills in a game many feel could be a preview of Super Bowl LVII. The Rams will attempt to become the first team since the 2003-04 Patriots to repeat as champions.
