Tag: tender

Report: Saints won’t tender restricted free agent WR Marquez Callaway

ESPN reports the Saints are not expected to tender restricted free agent wide receiver Marquez Callaway, who led the team in receiving in 2021. He’ll test the market:

This isn’t totally unexpected, but it’s still worth noting: the New Orleans Saints are not expected to issue a restricted free agent tender to wide receiver Marquez Callaway prior to the start of the new league year on Wednesday, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. Callaway led the Saints with 698 receiving yards and 6 touchdown catches in 2021 (with his 46 receptions ranking second-most behind Alvin Kamara’s 47) but saw a reduced role in 2022 following the additions of Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, and injury-shortened appearances by both Michael Thomas and Jarvis Landry.

It’s disappointing to see the team not make a stronger effort to retain someone who has played well in the past, but that might not make sense with the cost involved. The lowest RFA tender costs a fully-guaranteed $2,627,000 against the salary cap in 2023, and it only gives the Saints the right to match any contract offers Callaway gets from other teams — something they may be able to do anyway if they’re on good terms with his agent.

Still, this suggests he isn’t a big part of their plans moving forward. The receivers under contract with the Saints in 2023 include Olave, Shaheed, Tre’Quan Smith, Kirk Merritt, Kawaan Baker, and Kieth Kirkwood. New Orleans has had productive talks with Thomas on a contract extension but Landry is expected to hit free agency (as is Deonte Harty). If Callaway leaves for a new team, the Saints will not receive a compensatory draft pick for him because of his restricted status.

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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 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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Broncos sign 3 players to 1-year tenders, waive an offensive tackle

The Broncos signed OLB Malik Reed, QB Brett Rypien and DB P.J. Locke to 1-year tenders and waived OT Cody Conway.

The Denver Broncos kicked off their (voluntary) offseason program on Monday with a few housekeeping transactions.

First, the Broncos signed outside linebacker Malik Reed to a one-year right of first refusal tender worth $2.433 million, the team announced. Other teams will be allowed to make Reed an offer but Denver will get an opportunity to match any offer the outside linebacker receives.

After that, the Broncos signed quarterback Brett Rypien and safety P.J. Locke to their one-year exclusive rights free agent tenders. These signings were mostly formalities because ERFA players have no leverage in negotiations.

Rypien is now set to earn $965,000 this season and Locke will receive $895,000, according to OverTheCap.com.

Denver also waived offensive tackle Cody Conway, who missed last season after suffering a torn ACL during training camp. After parting ways with Conway, the Broncos’ remaining offensive tackles are Garett Bolles, Billy Turner, Calvin Anderson, Tom Compton, Quinn Bailey, Drew Himmelman and Casey Tucker.

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Chiefs RB Derrick Gore signed ERFA tender

A fan favorite at running back has signed his exclusive rights free agent tender with the #Chiefs.

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The Kansas City Chiefs tendered a contract offer to Exclusive Rights Free Agent (ERFA) RB Derrick Gore back in mid-March. Gore officially signed his contract tender per the NFL’s personnel notice for Thursday, meaning he’ll be back with the team for the 2022 NFL season.

If you’re unfamiliar with ERFAs, they 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 current club holds exclusive negotiating rights. If they’re 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 free agency if a team declines to extend a qualifying offer.

Gore caught on with Kansas City in February of 2021 when he first signed a reserve/future deal with the team. He was a standout during training camp and the preseason at the onset of the 2021 NFL season, but he didn’t make the 53-man roster outright. Gore was called up to the active roster from the practice squad when Clyde Edwards-Helaire suffered an MCL sprain in Week 5 against the Buffalo Bills.

Gore stuck on the roster for the remainder of the season, recording 51 carries for 256 yards and two touchdowns. He accrued one credited season and has just one throughout his NFL career. That means he’ll earn an $825K minimum salary in 2022, should he make the 53-man roster this year. Right now, with just Edwards-Helaire and Ronald Jones as key players at the position, it looks like he’ll have a pretty good chance to make the 53-man roster in 2022.

Saints tender DT Shy Tuttle, earn right of first refusal to other contract offers

Saints tender defensive tackle Shy Tuttle, earn right of first refusal to other contract offers:

Here’s a good move: ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the New Orleans Saints have issued a one-year contract tender to restricted free agent Shy Tuttle, paying him a fully-guaranteed $2.433 million for the 2022 season while giving the team a right of first refusal should another team make him a better offer.

For New Orleans, this keeps their second-best defensive tackle behind David Onyemata. Tuttle was the only other interior lineman active for all 11 games once Onyemata returned from his six-game suspension, averaging 29 snaps per game. For context, Onyemata led the team with 39 snaps per game across that span, with pending free agent Christian Ringo averaging 22 snaps per game (though he only played nine games). Backups Albert Huggins (21 snaps per game in five games) and Malcolm Roach (16 snaps per game in two games) rounded out the group.

But this doesn’t shut the door on a multiyear extension. The Saints have used this right-of-first-refusal tender before, matching a contract offer for tight end Josh Hill from the Chicago Bears while making an offer of their own to acquire Bears wide receiver Cameron Meredith. They opted not to match an offer from the Baltimore Ravens for wide receiver Willie Snead after tendering him, too.

So if another team wants to set the market value for Tuttle and make him a long-term offer, the Saints could then choose whether they have the same valuation for the player. If they do, they can match that offer and keep Tuttle in New Orleans. If they don’t, they can allow him to leave but they won’t receive any sort of compensation beyond minor salary cap relief with that $2.433 million hit coming off the books.

Tuttle is a solid player. He probably shouldn’t be starting for New Orleans, but he’s carved out a role for himself as a rotational player who can make an impact on both running and passing downs. They’ve won games with him starting next to Onyemata before and could do it again. Let’s see if they add a high-end starter this offseason or prefer to keep Tuttle in a big spot.

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Broncos place one-year tender on OLB Malik Reed

Malik Reed has totaled 15 sacks in 45 games with the Broncos (34 starts).

The Denver Broncos are placing a right of first refusal tender on outside linebacker Malik Reed, according to KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis. The one-year deal will give Reed a salary of $2.433 million this season.

Other teams will be allowed to make Reed an offer and if he signs an offer sheet from another club, Denver will have the right to match that offer.

Reed (6-2, 235 pounds) signed with the Broncos as a college free agent out of Nevada following the 2019 NFL draft. After totaling 22 sacks in four seasons with the Wolfe Pack, Reed made Denver’s 53-man roster as a rookie, initially as a rotational pass rusher.

After Bradley Chubb went down with an injury in 2019, Reed ended up starting eight games in his first season, recording two sacks. The following year, Reed was asked to start again in the place of an injured Von Miller and he totaled eight sacks in 16 games (13 starts).

Reed started 13 games again in 2021 due to another Chubb injury and Miller being traded mid-season. He recorded five sacks in 14 games last year.

Reed will now return for the 2022 season and, ideally, Denver will have him provide quality depth as a rotational pass rusher. But as Reed as shown in the past, he’s certainly capable of starting if called upon.

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Broncos tender 3 players, let 2 players hit free agency

Brett Rypien returns, Diontae Spencer walks. The Broncos’ free agency moves have begun.

The Denver Broncos have placed one-year tenders on quarterback Brett Rypien, inside linebacker Jonas Griffith and safety P.J. Locke, according to a report from KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis.

The Broncos did not, however, tender wide receiver/returner Diontae Spencer or backup offensive lineman Austin Schlottmann. Spencer and Schlottmann are now set to become unrestricted free agents.

Linebacker Natrez Patrick running back Adrian Killins also seem unlikely to receive tenders from Denver. Meanwhile, the Broncos will presumably try to tender or re-sign linebacker Micah Kiser, defensive lineman DeShawn Williams and edge defender Malik Reed.

Rypien is the team’s backup QB at the moment behind new starter Russell Wilson. Denver will likely add at least one more QB this offseason.

Griffith and Locke are poised to serve as key special teams players for the Broncos this season while providing depth on defense.

The deadline to place tenders on restricted and exclusive rights free agents is Wednesday afternoon. Any RFA and ERFA players who are not tendered before Wednesday’s deadline will become unrestricted free agents.

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Should Seahawks slap the franchise tag on RB Rashaad Penny?

Is running back Rashaad Penny a possible tag candidate for the Seattle Seahawks ahead of the start of NFL free agency?

The official start of NFL free agency is still a number of weeks away, but Tuesday marked the start of the window clubs can use to place either the franchise or transition tag on a player whose contract is expiring.

Like many teams around the league, the Seahawks don’t often opt to use a tag, but there have been a few exceptions. Jeff Kerr of CBS Sports took a look at all 32 clubs and proposed a possible tag option for each.

For Seattle, Kerr selected running back Rashaad Penny.

“The Seahawks should seriously consider tagging Penny after his finish to the season in 2021, showcasing how dominant Penny can be when healthy,” Kerr explains. “Penny finished his 2021 season with 119 carries for 749 yards and six touchdowns — leading the NFL with 6.3 yards per carry. In the final five games, Penny had 92 carries for 671 yards and six touchdowns — an incredible 7.3 yards per carry.”

“Seattle’s offense averaged 31.2 points per game and went 3-3 in Penny’s six starts, giving Russell Wilson immense help in the backfield down the stretch,” Kerr continued. “With Chris Carson and his injury history, the Seahawks need Penny’s explosiveness to take the pressure off Wilson.

“Paying Penny $9,570,000 and trying to work out a short-term deal is certainly worth the tag, especially when the Seahawks have $36,443,530 in available cap space.”

Seattle has until March 8 to use the tag on Penny, or another eligible player of the Seahawks’ choosing.

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