Punter Tress Way signed a five-year contract to return to the Washington Redskins on Saturday.

Way, 25, recently finished his third season and second with the Redskins, whom he joined after being cut by the Chicago Bears in training camp in 2014. He had 70 punts for 3,224 yards, leading to a 46.1-yard gross punting average, which ranked 12th in 2015.

He was an exclusive rights free agent, which, by definition, is a limited category of players whose contracts have expired without them having played a majority of three seasons. Had Way not signed a multi-year extension, he would have had to play the coming season on whatever contract terms the Redskins offered.

“I am so thankful,” Way said, referring to the long-term contract extension. “I’m the kind of guy that if they are the first team to really give me a shot to play, then I want to play there my whole career.”

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