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Arizona Cardinals middle linebacker Gerald Hayes, who has emerged as a solid playmaker in his first season as a full-time starter, signed a five-year contract extension on Monday.

	Hayes

The extension, which came on the last day for teams to sign players and count what would normally be signing bonuses as base salary toward the 2006 spending limit, is worth $21 million with $8 million guaranteed, ESPN's John Clayton reports.

The deal was in keeping with the Cardinals' recent initiative of attempting to secure top "nucleus" players with long-term extensions.

In the summer of 2005, the Cardinals extended the contract of wide receiver Anquan Boldin and last month they signed defensive tackle Darnell Dockett to a five-year extension.

Hayes, 26, isn't in the same class as those two standout players, but he has developed nicely, and has filled a position that has been a problem area for the Arizona defense in recent seasons. In eight starts, the fourth-year veteran has a team-high 61 tackles and has added two interceptions, a sack and two fumble recoveries.

Known mostly as a between-the-tackles defender versus the run, and a special teams contributor, Hayes has improved his overall consistency and his coverage skills this season. The upgrades in those areas helped him earn the starting job and his solid play has allowed him to maintain it.

A third-round choice in the 2003 draft, and the 70th player chosen overall that year, the former University of Pittsburgh standout has appeared in 36 games, including 11 starts. He has 109 tackles, two interceptions, one sack, one forced fumble and two recoveries.

Hayes was working on a one-year contract, with a base salary of $721,600, before the extension. Without the extension, he would have been eligible for unrestricted free agency next spring.

The team also announced that it has signed free-agent linebacker Monty Beisel to a one-year contract and placed linebacker James Darling on injured reserve with a calf ailment, ending his season.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com. To check out Len's chat archive, click here . The Associated Press also contributed to this report.