St. Louis, MO

After being selected team captain of the St. Louis Rams earlier in the week, middle linebacker James Laurinaitis has another thing to celebrate about.

The 6-2, 250-pound Laurinaitis has agreed to a five-year contract extension with the Rams reportedly worth $41.5 million.

The source told NFL.com that the deal will keep Laurinaitis under contract through the 2017 season and is worth $42.2 million, $23 million of which is guaranteed.

A 2009 second-round draft pick out of Ohio State, Laurinaitis has 376 tackles, eight sacks, five interceptions and 17 passes defended over his first three seasons in the NFL.

In his rookie year, led the Rams with 120 combined tackles and was voted the Carroll Rosenbloom Memorial Award, which goes to the Rams Rookie of the Year. He was also named the NFL All-Rookie team by Sporting News.

In 2011, his third NFL season, Laurinaitis made a career-high 142 tackles after slightly dipping his output in 2010 with just 114.

Laurinaitis is known for his durability, starting all 48 games during his career and, according to official playing-time documents, has missed just three snaps over that span.

During his college career, he was a Consensus All-American three straight times from 2006, to 2008 and in 2006, won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy awarded by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) to the best defensive player in the NCAA.

With the signing of Laurinaitis and defensive end Chris Long, the Rams have locked up the core of their defensive corps through the 2016 season.