Maybe the guy they refer to as the Cowboy will hang around the San Francisco 49ers just a little bit longer.

Veteran defensive lineman Justin Smith was poised to enter the final year of his contract but he signed a two-year extension on Tuesday that has him inked through 2015.

Smith, who has been selected to the previous four Pro Bowls, was due to earn $7.5 million this season. So, it’s possible the Niners worked to spread some of that money out. It was the final year of a $45 million, six-year contract Smith signed to come over from the Cincinnati Bengals in 2008, according to Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News.

Smith’s streak of 185 consecutive starts was snapped last season when he suffered a partially torn triceps.

“You realize it can be taken from you at any time,” Smith said of the game, per Inman. “I hadn’t been hurt for 12 years prior. You’d look at guys who got hurt and kind of say, ‘Come on.’ But you see what that side of it’s like and what those guys are going through. I’m one year at a time and excited to be here on this team.

“Let’s see what we can do.”

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Brad Biggs covers the Bears for the Chicago Tribune