Although the Broncos have regressed since their Super Bowl season, Matt Paradis has become one of the franchise’s best players over the past two seasons. And the Broncos are treating the restricted free agent center as such.
Denver plans to place a second-round tender on its three-year center starter, James Palmer of NFL.com tweets. A second-round tender will cost the Broncos $2.914MM after Paradis represented merely a $615K cap hit for Denver last year.
Since earning the center job at the outset of Denver’s 2015 Super Bowl campaign, the former sixth-round pick has not missed a snap. Paradis managed to accomplish this despite playing in 2016 on two hips that eventually needed surgery. Despite undergoing procedures on both during the 2017 offseason, he was back in action in Week 1 and anchored the ’17 Broncos’ line.
The 28-year-old snapper profiles as an extension candidate for the Broncos, who have not enjoyed much non-Paradis continuity on their line over the past three years. Paradis is one season from UFA status, joining key re-up possibility Bradley Roby in that regard.
The Broncos also have to make a tender call on outside linebacker Shaquil Barrett, who joins Paradis in profiling as a top-tier RFA this offseason.