Advertisement

Jets officially sign Ivory to extension; add OG Peterman

The New York Jets officially announced running back Chris Ivory has signed a three-year contract extension and the team signed free agent guard Stephen Peterman.

Ivory was acquired from the New Orleans Saints for a fourth-round pick on Friday and agreed to a three-year $10 million deal. The third-year tailback was a restricted free agent who visited with the Jets in early April. Because of his status, the Saints would have received a second-round pick that commanded a one-year, $2 million contract as compensation if they did not match an offer from the Jets. Instead, the two sides negotiated a trade.

Ivory rushed for 217 yards last season while nagging injuries limited his ability to earn regular playing time in a Saints backfield that included Mark Ingram, Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles. Ivory, the Saints' leading rusher in 2010 with 716 yards, was undrafted and has never been a fulltime starter in the NFL.

The Jets are looking to replace Shonn Greene, who signed with the Tennessee Titans. They added former Oakland Raider change-of-pace back Mike Goodson to a three-year, $6.9 million contract in March, but like Ivory's power-running ability. Bilal Powell and Joe McKnight are also in the backfield mix.

Ivory has 256 rushes for 1,307 yards for his career, a 5.1-yards per carry average.

Peterman was released by the New York Jets on Feb. 5. The 31-year-old started 86 games for the Lions since being signed in 2006, and hasn't missed a game in the past three years.

The Jets used a third-round pick on Kent State guard Brian Winters and a fifth-round selection on Virginia offensive tackle Oday Aboushi, but bringing in another veteran guard was considered an offseason priority.