Donald Penn is staying with the Raiders on a restructured contract.
The veteran left tackle has agreed to terms on a small pay reduction, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported, via a source informed of the situation. The new deal actually increases Penn’s guaranteed money in 2018, per Las Vegas Review-Journal, in exchange for team-friendly parameters.
Penn signed a two-year, $21 million extension last September. Now 35 years old and coming off of Lisfranc surgery, he remains on the physically unable to perform list while first-round draft pick Kolton Miller gains experience on Derek Carr‘s blind side.
Just a week ago, Rapoport reported that it was "very much up in the air" whether Oakland would trade or release Penn if he refused to entertain the notion of a pay cut.
Prior to the Lisfranc injury that ended his season in mid-December, Penn had not missed a game in his NFL career. Still playing at a high level, he has earned Pro Bowl selections in each of the past two years.
The twelfth-year veteran, who began his career under Jon Gruden in Tampa Bay, is expected to begin practicing soon. That would bolster the offensive line, allowing Miller to kick over to the right side.
If Penn recaptures pre-injury form and Miller holds his own in his NFL debut season, the offensive line might just be the strongest position group on Gruden’s team.