NCIS cast member Rocky Carroll, who plays the enigmatic agency director Leon Vance, has closed a new deal to remain with the long-running CBS procedural, according to reports.

Carroll will play Vance, who has also appeared on NCIS: Los Angeles, throughout the upcoming season.

It's unclear how often he will appear in NCIS Season 10. Director Vance's prolonged absences were notable at times in Season 9, though he played key roles in a number of episodes.

Whether he appears in a reduced number of installments again remains to be seen, but he'll be back.

David McCallum (Ducky) recently signed on for another two years with Gibbs and Co., and despite the way the Season 9 finale ended, all indications are that his character will survive.

NCIS mainstays and fan favorites Michael Weatherly (Tony), Pauley Perrette (Abby) and Sean Murray (McGee), are still in negotiations to return next season, but should return as well.

Show-runner Gary Glasberg recently said he has “no doubt that it will all work out” to bring the cast back intact, and Weatherly's contract negotiations also dragged out two years ago.

Steve Marsi is the Managing Editor of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Google+ or email him here.