Even if tagging kicker Matt Prater was no more difficult than in the grammar school recess game, the Broncos’ front office was in denial.
The Broncos tried to negotiate a long-term deal with the kicker’s agent, Frank Bauer, in hopes of avoiding using only their second franchise tag in team history.
But when the latest exchange of contract proposals had some significant gaps, the team surrendered and tagged Prater by the Monday afternoon deadline.
The move prevents Prater from becoming a free agent and ensures he will remain with the Broncos in 2012.
“He is a very talented kicker and an important part of our team,” said John Elway, the Broncos’ executive vice president of football operations.
Prater joins Jason Elam, another kicker, as the only players the Broncos have tagged since the advent of NFL free agency in 1993. Elam received a $1.24 million salary for his tag in 2002. Prater will receive at least $2.6 million in 2012, although the tag does not preclude him and the Broncos from continuing to work out a long-term arrangement.
Had Prater reached free agency, he could well have commanded a multiyear contract that averaged at least $3 million a year.
The Broncos were one of 21 teams that used the franchise tag by the Monday deadline. Prater was one of five kickers who were tagged, joining Cincinnati’s Mike Nugent, Cleveland’s Phil Dawson, Jacksonville’s Josh Scobee and Tampa Bay’s Connor Barth.
The tag period may have hurt the Broncos in that they will be shopping for a free-agent safety if Brian Dawkins retires, as expected. The free-agent safety class was thinned when tags were applied to San Francisco’s Dashon Goldson, Oakland’s Tyvon Branch and Tennessee’s Michael Griffin.
The Broncos have enough holes on their roster without adding a kicker. Prater delivered walkoff, game-winning field goals against Miami (from 52 yards), San Diego, Minnesota and Chicago (plus a game-tying 59-yarder with three seconds left in regulation).
Besides his clutch, long-range, field-goal ability, Prater has become a field position weapon. He had the highest percentage of touchbacks to kickoffs last year at 69.6 percent. Yes, that includes the expected league-best home touchback rate of 89.7 percent. But his 50 percent touchback rate on the road was tied for 10th in the league.
