The Denver Broncos may be planning to place the franchise tag on their kicker.
Mike Klis of the Denver Post reports that the Broncos, with 17 unrestricted free agents heading into this offseason, are likely to franchise kicker Matt Prater. The franchise tag for kickers this year is projected at just $2.6 million, so keeping Prater around won’t be too costly.
Prater has expressed interest in getting a long-term deal done, but a guaranteed one-year salary of $2.6 million wouldn’t be bad, either. Last year Prater made $1.8 million.
Prater got a lot of credit for some big-time, game-winning kicks last season, although it’s also worth pointing out that he had some big misses: He actually missed more kicks than he made in the 40-49-yard range. Overall, however, the Broncos were pleased enough with Prater’s performance that they want to keep him around, and the franchise tag for kickers makes keeping him around affordable.