NFL: Preseason-Buffalo Bills at Carolina Panthers
Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

The Buffalo Bills and starting left tackle Dion Dawkins have reached an agreement on a long-term extension, the team announced on Thursday. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, it's a four-year extension that will pay the 26-year-old $60 million. Dawkins, who was originally drafted by Buffalo in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft out of Temple, was entering the final year of his rookie contract in 2020 and now this new deal keeps him in upstate New York through the 2024 season. 

The $15 million average annual value to Dawkins' extension does put him among the elite left tackles in the NFL and within the top-10 when looking at AAV. It's also a massive leap from that four-year, $4.2 million rookie contract he is just wrapping up as a second-rounder. Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network relays that Dawkins will see $34 million guaranteed in this new deal. 

Dawkins has started in 43 of his 48 games played in the NFL and almost immediately cemented himself as the club's starting left tackle, a post he's since held throughout his first three years in the league. The 6-foot-4, 320 pounder has also been a durable piece to Buffalo's offensive line, playing in 95% of the snaps last season and 100% of the snaps in 2018. Dawkins has never missed a game to this point in his career. 

The tackle has also displayed his athleticism in the receiving game for the Bills, catching two touchdowns over the past two seasons.

Securing Josh Allen's blindside for the foreseeable future is a key move for Buffalo as they look to claim the AFC East for the first time since 1995 as the New England Patriots, the longstanding favorite in the division, is currently in a state of transition.