Tag: ERFA tender

Broncos offseason moves so far: 14 future signings, 1 ERFA deal

So far this offseason, Broncos have signed 14 players to reserve/future contracts and one player (Jonas Griffith) to a one-year ERFA tender.

It’s been a relatively quiet offseason for the Denver Broncos so far, but that will change in the coming weeks.

The Broncos have made two additions to the coaching staff and the team has signed or re-signed 15 players, but 14 of those deals won’t become official until March 13.

After the 2023 season wrapped up, Denver signed 14 players to reserve/future contracts. Those players were eligible to sign future deals because they were not on an active roster when the season ended. They will officially join the 90-man offseason roster when the new league year begins on March 13.

The Broncos also made one in-house free agent signing, giving a one-year deal to exclusive rights free agent linebacker Jonas Griffith. As an ERFA, Griffith had no leverage in negotiations, so his deal was somewhat of a formality.

The action will start to heat up next month when teams are allowed begin negotiating with pending free agents from other clubs on March 11. Once the NFL’s new league begins on March 13, free agents can sign with any team.

Here’s a quick recap of the 15 moves Denver has made ahead of full free agency.

Broncos have signed both of their ERFA players

LB Jonas Griffith and OL Quinn Bailey signed their ERFA tenders. The Broncos have room for 18 more players with about $7M in cap space.

The Denver Broncos have signed both of their exclusive rights free agents to one-year contracts.

It was just a formality because tendered ERFA players have no negotiating power under the collective bargaining agreement, but inside linebacker Jonas Griffith signed his deal in March and offensive lineman Quinn Bailey signed his contract when he reported for the offseason program on Tuesday.

Because he has two years of experience, Griffith will earn $940,000 this season. Bailey, who has just one accrued season, will earn $870,000. The two players now count against the team’s salary cap and 90-man offseason roster.

Denver also placed a one-year ERFA tender on punter Corliss Waitman last month, but he did not sign it immediately like Griffith. The Broncos later signed punter Riley Dixon and rescinded Waitman’s tender, making him a free agent.

NFL Players Association totals indicate that Denver has $7,792,451 in remaining salary cap space. The Broncos currently hold five draft picks and they have 18 open spots on the roster. After the draft, Denver will fill the 90-man offseason roster with college free agent signings.

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Broncos place ERFA tenders on LB Jonas Griffith and two other players

The Broncos have placed one-year, ERFA tenders on LB Jonas Griffith and two other players.

The Denver Broncos are bringing back three of their players who were eligible for one-year exclusive rights free agent tenders this spring.

The Broncos have placed one-year, ERFA tenders on inside linebacker Jonas Griffith, punter Corliss Waitman and offensive lineman Quinn Bailey, according to KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis.

In the NFL, ERFAs are players with fewer than three accrued seasons and an expiring contract. They are eligible for one-year, league-minimum contracts.

For Griffith and Waitman, who have two years of experience, the tender will be worth $940,000 this season. Bailey, who has just one accrued season, will earn $870,000 this year.

Denver declined to pick up the ERFA tender of pass rusher Jonathan Kongbo, according to Klis. Kongbo will now become an unrestricted free agent.

The Broncos’ three players who did have their tenders exercised — Griffith, Waitman and Bailey — will not be allowed to negotiate with other teams.

We are tracking all of the team’s free agency moves on Broncos Wire.

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Broncos place 1-year ERFA tender on punter Corliss Waitman

The Broncos have placed a one-year, $940,000 ERFA tender on punter Corliss Waitman.

The Denver Broncos’ first move of NFL free agency flew under the radar, so much so that we didn’t notice it until almost three hours later.

The Broncos exercised the one-year exclusive rights free agent tender of punter Corliss Waitman, according to Doug Kyed of AtoZ Sports Nashville.

The ERFA deal will pay Waitman $940,000, the NFL’s minimum salary for a player with two years of experience. As an ERFA, Waitman will not be eligible to negotiate with other teams.

Waitman (6-2, 210 pounds) was born in Belgium and later moved to the United States as a teenager. He played college football at South Alabama and then signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2020.

Waitman bounced between the Steelers, Las Vegas Raiders and New England Patriots from 2020-2021 before being claimed off waivers by the Broncos late in the 2021 season. He went to camp with Denver last summer and beat out Sam Martin for the starting punter job.

Waitman averaged 46.6 yards per punt with the Broncos in 2022.

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Chiefs plan to tender qualifying offer to ERFA CB Deandre Baker

The #Chiefs plan to tender a qualifying offer to ERFA CB Deandre Baker prior to the start of the new league year according to a new report.

The Kansas City Chiefs plan to tender at least one of their four exclusive rights free agents.

According to Kansas City Star beat writer Herbie Teope, the Chiefs will extend a qualifying offer to CB Deandre Baker before the start of the new league year. As an exclusive rights free agent (ERFA), the team is required to extend a qualifying offer before free agency otherwise Baker would become an unrestricted free agent.

The Chiefs added Deandre Baker to the practice squad in 2020 and promoted him to the 53-man roster via standard elevation twice. Baker suffered a serious non-contact leg fracture in the final game of the regular season, but he returned to health in 2021, appearing in eight games including one start in Week 4 against the Philadelphia Eagles. In total, he played a combined 238 snaps on defense in the regular season and postseason.

With Charvarius Ward set to have a robust market in free agency, it makes plenty of sense to bring Baker back this season. He’ll likely compete for a starting role on the outside with a draft pick or another free agent signing. The team relied on him in a depth capacity this past offseason, so this will really be a chance for him to take a step forward in the system.

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Broncos have just one player left to sign a tender

The Broncos have one player remaining to sign his one-year tender.

The Denver Broncos have nearly completed their offseason housekeeping.

Last week, the Broncos signed offensive lineman Elijah Wilkinson and nose tackle Mike Purcell to second-round, $3.259 million tenders. No other teams submitted offer sheets for Wilkinson or Purcell so the players were never in danger of leaving Denver.

The Broncos also signed four exclusive rights free agents to one-year tenders last week: cornerback Shakial Taylor, safety Trey Marshall, wide receiver Tim Patrick and returner Diontae Spencer. As EFRAs, those players were not eligible to negotiate with other teams. They received league-minimum contracts.

After signing Wilkinson, Purcell, Taylor, Marshall, Patrick and Spencer, Denver has just one remaining player left to sign his tender: offensive lineman Jake Rodgers.

Rodgers’ only options are to sign or sit out the season so his singing is likely just a formality. Once signed, Rodgers will become the 79th player on the Broncos’ roster, leaving 11 open spots entering the NFL draft.

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Ravens give ERFA tender to RB Gus Edwards

The Baltimore Ravens are bringing back running back Gus Edwards for the 2020 season on an ERFA tender.

The Baltimore Ravens are bringing back running back Gus Edwards, according to the team’s Twitter account. The Ravens have picked up Edwards’ exclusive rights free agent tender, which will keep him locked up through the 2020 NFL season.

As an exclusive rights free agent, Edwards’ signing was expected. Unless the Ravens chose to not tender a qualifying offer—a one-year contract usually at league-minimum salary—Edwards would either have to sign with Baltimore or sit out the season.

Edwards has been productive for the Ravens over the last two seasons, including last year as the primary backup to starter Mark Ingram. Edwards has played in 27 games since 2018, rushing 270 times for 1,429 yards and four rushing touchdowns. His 5.3 yards-per-carry average last season was second on the offense to quarterback Lamar Jackson.

The signing keeps some continuity in Baltimore’s backfield and keeps their top two running backs on the roster for 2020. The Ravens have struggled in that regard, having five different running backs — Ingram, Edwards, Alex Collins, Terrance West and Justin Forsett — lead the team in rushing yards since 2015.

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