Tag: ERFA

Jaguars tender kicker Riley Patterson as ERFA

The Jaguars are keeping kicker Riley Patterson in Jacksonville.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are keeping kicker Riley Patterson after he accounted for the third most points ever in a season for the franchise. A source told Jaguars Wire that the team has tendered Patterson as an exclusive-rights free agent.

As a player with only two seasons in the NFL under his belt, the Jaguars only needed to extend a qualifying offer (the league minimum) to keep Patterson in Jacksonville.

Patterson, 23, spent his rookie season with the Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots, and Detroit Lions. In August, Patterson was waived by the Lions at the end of training camp and was claimed by the Jaguars, who struggled to find a consistent kicker in preseason.

In his first season with the Jaguars, Patterson made 30 of his 35 field goals and all but one of his 37 extra point tries. He hit a 48-yard field goal as time expired to force overtime against the Dallas Cowboys, and he made a 36-yard game-winner against the Los Angeles Chargers in the playoffs.

Former kicker Mike Hollis is the only Jaguars player to ever score more points than the 126 Patterson recorded during the 2022 regular season.

Patterson is one of four exclusive-rights free agents for the Jaguars this offseason, along with wide receiver Tim Jones, and offensive linemen Cole Van Lanen and Blake Hance.

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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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The Lions bring back 5 exclusive rights free agents including TE Brock Wright

The Lions bring back 5 exclusive rights free agents including TE Brock Wright

The Detroit Lions announced they have made the required contract tender offers to five exclusive rights free agents, including starting TE Brock Wright.

The quintet includes Wright, fellow TE Shane Zylstra, long snapper Scott Daly, DT Benito Jones and LB Anthony Pittman.

The move is more procedural than anything. Exclusive rights free agents, or ERFAs, are a cut-and-dry situation. If the team wants to keep them, they offer a 1-year deal worth the league minimum. If no such tender offer is made, the player becomes an unrestricted free agent.

The Lions had two other ERFAs, OG Tommy Kraemer and RB Craig Reynolds. Detroit re-signed Reynolds separately, which leaves Kraemer, who missed the 2022 season with a back injury.

One potential free agent for every position on the Lions offense

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What is an exclusive rights free agent in the NFL?

Exclusive rights free agents are eligible for one-year tenders with a league-minimum salary. Broncos LB Jonas Griffith is an ERFA this year.

As 2023 NFL free agency approaches, Broncos Wire has discussed the differences between unrestricted free agents and restricted free agents. Today, we’ll take a quick look at a third category: exclusive rights free agents.

Exclusive rights free agents (ERFAs) have no leverage in negotiations. They are players with fewer than three accrued seasons and an expiring contract. Teams can offer their in-house ERFAs one-year, league-minimum contracts.

If an ERFA player is offered a league-minimum tender by his club, he is not eligible to negotiate with other teams. If his original club declines to offer him an ERFA tender, though, the player becomes an unrestricted free agent.

This year, the Denver Broncos have four ERFAs, most notably including inside linebacker Jonas Griffith. A one-year ERFA tender for a player with two accrued seasons like Griffith is worth $940,000 in 2023.

That would mark an increase from Griffith’s $825,000 salary last year while also representing a bargain for the Broncos after the linebacker started eight games in 2022. The deadline to place tenders on ERFAs this year is 2 p.m. MT on March 16.

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Here is the list of Broncos players with RFA and ERFA statuses

Should the Broncos give one-year tenders to these restricted and ERFA free agents this spring?

In addition to having 17 players scheduled to become unrestricted free agents this spring, the Denver Broncos will also have four restricted free agents (RFAs) and two exclusive rights free agents (ERFAs), according to Spotrac.com.

Players set to become RFAs are eligible for one-year first- ($6,005,000) or second-round ($4,304,000) tenders, or a right of first refusal ($2,627,000) tender (salaries courtesy of OverTheCap.com).

If the Broncos, for example, place a first-round tender on an RFA and that player signed a bigger contract with another team, that club would have to send a first-round pick to Denver for the player. The same concept applies to a second-round tender, and the right of first refusal tender would give the team a chance to match an offer a player might receive from another club.

Players with ERFA statuses are eligible for one-year contracts at the NFL’s minimum salary, and they are not eligible to negotiate with other teams. So if Denver wants to keep their ERFAs, it’s easy to do so.

Here is the full list of Broncos players scheduled to become restricted or exclusive rights free agents this spring.

Chiefs waive RB Derrick Gore from IR with injury settlement

The #Chiefs have waived RB Derrick Gore from injured reserve with an injury settlement. If he clears waivers, he’ll become a free agent. More here:

A few days after placing him on injured reserve, the Kansas City Chiefs have waived RB Derrick Gore with an injury settlement according to the NFL’s daily personnel notice.

Gore suffered a fractured thumb during the preseason Week 2 game against the Washington Commanders. He was placed on injured reserve on Tuesday when the team had to make two additional roster moves to get the roster down to the new 80-man player limit.

Should Gore clear waivers and become a free agent, it’s possible that he rejoins the team at a later date when he is fully healthy. This is a bit of a roster workaround that Brett Veach has done in the past (Gehrig Dieter in 2019) to subvert the NFL’s injured reserve rules. If you place a player on injured reserve prior to 53-man roster cuts, they’re not allowed to be designated to return during the season. Waiving them from injured reserve with an injury designation opens up the possibility that they can be re-signed and play.

Gore first caught on with the Chiefs in February of 2021 when he first signed a reserve/future deal with the team. He was a standout during the preseason in 2021, but he didn’t make the active roster initially. Gore was called up to the 53-man roster from the practice squad when starting RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire was injured in Week 5 against the Buffalo Bills. He stuck on the team for the remainder of the season, recording 51 carries for 256 yards and two touchdowns.

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Chiefs release CB DeAndre Baker from 90-man roster

The #Chiefs are releasing veteran cornerback and former #Giants first-round draft pick DeAndre Baker.

The Kansas City Chiefs are saying goodbye to a veteran cornerback on Sunday.

As first reported by ESPN’s Adam Teicher, the Chiefs have released CB DeAndre Baker from the 90-man offseason roster. The team first signed Baker to the practice squad back in 2020. He was promoted to the 53-man roster via standard elevation twice that year, but he suffered a serious non-contact leg fracture in the final game of the regular season.

After returning from the injury, Baker appeared in eight games last season, including a start in Week 4 against the Philadelphia Eagles. In total, he played a combined 238 snaps on defense in the regular season and postseason, recording 16 total tackles and a pass defended.

In early March, the Chiefs extended a qualifying contract offer to Baker, an exclusive rights free agent. He signed that ERFA contract to return to Kansas City for a third season.

The Chiefs added a ton of competition at the cornerback position this year, including rookies Trent McDuffie, Joshua Williams, Jaylen Watson and Nazeeh Johnson. They also traded to acquire Lonnie Johnson from the Texans. It was becoming increasingly clear that Baker was one of the players on the outside looking in with this competitive group.

Releasing him now gives him the chance to catch on with another team before the start of the 2022 NFL season. It also frees valuable repetitions for players who are more likely to make the 53-man roster. This move also creates a roster spot for recently-signed WR Devin Gray.

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Chiefs CB DeAndre Baker signs ERFA tender

The last of the #Chiefs’ three exclusive rights free agents has signed his contract tender.

In early March, the Kansas City Chiefs extended a qualifying contract offer to cornerback DeAndre Baker, an exclusive rights free agent. On Friday, Baker officially signed that contract, according to the NFL’s personnel notice. This is merely a formality ensuring he’ll be back with the team for the 2022 season.

ERFAs are veteran free agents who have yet to accrue three seasons in the NFL. Their original team holds exclusive negotiating rights. If an ERFA is tendered a qualifying contract offer by his team prior to free agency, he is unable to refuse that offer. He can reach unrestricted free agency only if the team declines to extend a qualifying offer or pulls the qualifying offer.

Baker, who has accrued two NFL seasons, was expected to get a one-year deal worth $925,000. Salaries for ERFAs are typically very low, amounting to very little in terms of salary cap impact.

The Chiefs first signed Baker to the practice squad in 2020. He was promoted to the 53-man roster via standard elevation twice that year. Baker suffered a serious noncontact leg fracture in the final game of the regular season. He appeared in eight games last season, including a start in Week 4 against the Philadelphia Eagles. In total, he played a combined 238 snaps on defense in the regular season and postseason, recording 16 total tackles and a pass defensed.

Baker should be in the mix for more playing time in 2022. With injuries to Rashad Fenton, Trent McDuffie and Joshua Williams, it’s possible that Baker works his way onto the first team early in training camp.

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Chiefs TE Jody Fortson signed ERFA tender

On the same day that he was spotted back at OTA practice, #Chiefs TE Jody Fortson signed his one-year ERFA tender.

In mid-March, the Kansas City Chiefs extended a qualifying contract offer to Exclusive Rights Free Agent (ERFA) TE Jody Fortson. On Thursday, Fortson officially signed his contract tender following OTA practice, a formality ensuring he’ll be back with the team for the 2022 NFL season.

ERFAs are veteran free agents who have yet to accrue three seasons in the NFL. Instead of becoming an unrestricted free agent that can sign with any team, their original team holds exclusive negotiating rights. If an ERFA is tendered a qualifying contract offer by their team prior to free agency, they can’t refuse said offer to become an unrestricted free agent. They can only reach unrestricted free agency if a team declines to extend a qualifying offer.

Fortson’s qualifying offer is expected to be a one-year deal for $660K.

A converted receiver out of Valdosta State University, Fortson spent the 2020 season on the practice squad in Kansas City. The 6-6 and 240-pound tight end would have a standout training camp and preseason in 2021, paving his way to make the 53-man roster to start the season.

Fortson returned to the practice field for OTAs in a limited capacity this week after having missed the majority of last season with an Achilles injury. He had five receptions for 47 yards and two touchdowns in six games in 2021 and was carving out a more significant role on offense at the time of his injury. Should he stay healthy in 2022, it’s fair to expect that he could again make the 53-man roster and claim the role he was working toward last season.

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