Broncos defensive back Tony Carter has become the latest restricted free agent to sign his tender to return to his team, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (Twitter link). The Broncos had assigned Carter a low-end RFA tender, so he’ll be in line for a salary of $1.542MM for the coming season.
Carter, who turns 29 next month, didn’t play much for the Broncos in 2014. Chris Harris was coming into his own as one of the league’s best cornerbacks, and the club also had notable offseason signee Aqib Talib and first-round pick Bradley Roby at the position. Given the crowded depth chart, there were some whispers at last October’s trade deadline that Carter could be on the move, but the Broncos ultimately elected to hang on to the former Florida State Seminole.
Around the time that the Broncos tendered Carter a contract offer last month, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com indicated (via Twitter) that there was “strong” outside interest in the cornerback. However, the deadline for rival teams to sign Carter to an offer sheet came and went without any additional rumors. It’s not clear whether the RFA tender diminished that outside interest, or whether potential suitors simply couldn’t work anything out with the Denver corner.
Either way, Carter appears poised to return to the Broncos for the coming season, and will be eligible for unrestricted free agency next March. If the Broncos secondary suffers an injury or two, he could take on a larger role in 2015 — if not, he may be the subject of trade rumors again this fall.