Marcus Cannon betting on his own health with restructured contract

There is a per-game roster bonus raise in Cannon's newly-restructured contract, which means the right tackle is betting on himself to stay healthy

On Monday, New England Patriots starting right tackle Marcus Cannon had his contract restructured by the team, which freed up cap space for New England while also adding bigger incentives for Cannon. 

As the Boston Globe's Ben Volin detailed on Wednesday, Cannon's old contract consisted of a $5.5 million salary, $500,000 in per-game bonuses, and a $7.456 million cap hit. His new contract consists of a $1 million salary, $3.5 million signing bonus, $1.5 million in per-game bonuses, and a $4.935 million cap hit. 

Patriots created about $2.5m in cap space with Marcus Cannon’s restructure.

He can still make $6m in 2019, but not quite as easily.

Old deal: $5.5m salary, $500k in per-game bonus, $7.456m cap

New deal: $1m salary, $3.5m signing bonus, $1.5m in per-game bonus, $4.935m cap

— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) July 31, 2019

That is certainly a team-friendly contract, which saves New England money if Cannon misses time during the season. 

Over the last three seasons, he has missed 13 games because of injury, so Cannon is betting on himself with this restructured contract. 

With La'Adrian Waddle now in Buffalo, the Patriots no longer have a security blanket at right tackle behind Cannon, so it is essential that he stays healthy throughout the season for the team to maintain stability at the tackle position and for Cannon to earn the maximum amount of money from his incentive-ladened contract.