The Buffalo Bills signed safety Aaron Williams signed a four-year, $26 million contract extension on Wednesday.
The deal makes Williams the eighth highest-paid safety in the NFL and includes $14.625 million in guarantees and a $6.25 million signing bonus.
Williams started 14 games for the Bills last year and had a career-best 82 tackles and shared the team lead in interceptions with four.
“Aaron Williams is a versatile player who has grown into a key playmaker for our defense in recent years,” Bills general manager Doug Whaley said. “He had an extremely productive season for our defense in 2013. Aaron is the type of young, core player we targeted early in the process to retain for years to come and this will be our philosophy moving forward.
“By building on his improved play in 2013, we expect Aaron to continue to grow into a key contributor for the Bills organization.”
A second-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, Williams had trouble at cornerback in his first two seasons but stepped up his production last year after switching to safety. He has 144 career tackles (111 solo), five interceptions, 23 passes defensed and two forced fumbles.
The Bills are expected to lose three-time Pro Bowl safety Jairus Byrd in free agency after the team failed to reach agreement with him.