CHICAGO _ Evan McPherson, who has become a Bengals folk hero with a bent for the dramatic, knows a good script when he sees one.
It arrived Friday with reports he had agreed to one of the most lucrative extensions ever by an NFL kicker a few short months after becoming a father for the first time.
"Couldn't have written it better than what's going on right now," said McPherson, shortly after the Bengals' Friday walkthrough setting up Saturday's preseason game (1 p.m.-Cincinnati's-Channel 19) here against the Bears.
"I'm a very blessed man. I've got a great family, I've got a great wife, a beautiful daughter, and this."
According to the reports, "This," is an extension worth $16.5 million, a deal that gives McPherson $10 million in the first year, a record for a kicker on a three-year extension.
"I feel like that means this organization has faith in me," said McPherson, the Bengals all-time leading postseason scorer. "I feel like they have enough faith in me to give me the money right now, rather than just wait and see if it works out before they give me a lot of the money. With how the contract is structured, I think it shows they have confidence in me and it should make me confident as well."
The Bengals have plenty to go on, starting with his walk-off kicks during his stunning rookie year that delivered wins to clinch the AFC North and AFC championship, as well as an AFC Divisional win. McPherson has made all 19 of his field-goal attempts in the postseason, second on the all-time list to begin a career behind Robbie Gould's 29.
Late last season, he kept the Bengals in the playoff hunt during a Monday night December game in Jacksonville when his 54-yard field goal with 2:28 left in regulation gave them the lead and a 48-yarder with 1:45 left in overtime won it.
Plus, he's one of the NFL's deadliest from distance. He's got the longest field goal in Bengals' history, a 59-yarder, and four of the five longest. His club-record 21 field goals of at least 50 yards are the most by any NFL kicker in his first three seasons. He's also tied with Pittsburgh's Chris Boswell and Arizona's Matt Prater for most 50-yarders in the last three years.
But he's got goals for more field goals.
"A ton of stuff left to achieve. I want to be more consistent as I get older. Trying to find new ways to get better," McPherson said. "To help this team get to the Super Bowl consistently. For me it's always been trying to learn new ways to get consistent in my job."
The folk hero is now just plain folks.
"We love Cincinnati. Most of our friend groups that we hang out with are outside of football," McPherson said. "That's through the church at Crossroads. We see the people once a week and we've made a lot of friends. Obviously, we have one home and it's in Cincinnati and we don't plan on leaving."
