Kyle Van Noy is the next Patriots player up for an extension

Kyle Van Noy is here to stay.

As the Reno,NV native has cemented himself as one of the pillars of the Patriots’ roster, it feels almost as if he he’s been here for the better part of a decade — even though it hasn’t even been three full seasons.

After being acquired for a bag of footballs in 2016, the former BYU Cougar’s integration within Patriots defense began quickly. After helping the team achieve victory in Super Bowl 51, Van Noy signed his current deal and saw his on-field role take major step forward in 2017, as he was tasked with playing on every down. He played in 66.98% of the team’s defense snaps despite missing three games and barely playing in the team’s final two contests of the regular season.

This year he played in all 16 regular season games and participated in 90.7% of the team’s defensive snaps — third on the team behind Stephon Gilmore and Devin McCourty. When a guy is playing more defensive snaps than Patrick Chung in Bill Belichick’s defense, it’s safe to say he’s made it into the circle of trust.

Amidst an ascension to this foundational tier of the Patriots’ roster has been a propensity for the former second round pick to have his biggest performances on the biggest of stages. In his last six postseason games, Van Noy has amassed 34 tackles, four tackles for loss, five quarterback hits, two passes defended, two forced fumbles, and four sacks.

With a second championship ring currently in production, and with a contract year on the horizon in 2019, the 28-year-old linebacker has more than earned an extension that can adequately compensate him for his increased value to the club — a value that shows no signs of diminishing in the near future.

Here’s how Van Noy’s 2019 current $6,291,668 cap figure is broken down:

• Salary: $4,250,000
• Signing Bonus Proration: $1,166,668
• Per-game active roster bonuses: $500,000 ($31,250 for 16 games)
• $375,000 like-to-be-earned incentives for 80% playing time

Here’s what an extension for Van Noy projects to look like:

This three-year extension would give Van Noy the ability to earn up to $25.75M in new money while taking him through his age 31 season. Once signed, it would open up $1.775M in 2019 cap space for the Patriots by removing this season’s existing per-game active roster bonuses and incentives, and by converting $3.2M of the existing 2019 salary into part of a $9.2M signing bonus.

The signing bonus, his remaining $1.05M 2019 salary, and $2M of his 2020 salary would make up the guaranteed portion of the deal. Starting in 2020, the per-game active roster bonuses and incentives would start up again, giving the team some risk protection.

The contract would give Van Noy a healthy boost in APY, boosting him up 11 spots to the 16th-highest paid off-ball linebacker in the NFL — ahead of guys like Avery Williamson, Sean Lee, K.J. Wright, Zach Brown, and Danny Trevathan. It would also put him just behind the likes of Demario Davis, Brandon Marshall, Nigel Bradham, and teammate Dont’a Hightower.

With Kyle Van Noy clearly in the future plans of the organization, this a solid deal that would accomplish goals for each side — up front cash with a solid guarantee, and back end cap flexibility with built-in risk protection throughout.

Follow Brian Phillips on Twitter — @BPhillips_SB