The Kansas City Chiefs plan to tender at least one of their four exclusive rights free agents.
According to Kansas City Star beat writer Herbie Teope, the Chiefs will extend a qualifying offer to CB Deandre Baker before the start of the new league year. As an exclusive rights free agent (ERFA), the team is required to extend a qualifying offer before free agency otherwise Baker would become an unrestricted free agent.
The Chiefs added Deandre Baker to the practice squad in 2020 and promoted him to the 53-man roster via standard elevation twice. Baker suffered a serious non-contact leg fracture in the final game of the regular season, but he returned to health in 2021, appearing in eight games including one start in Week 4 against the Philadelphia Eagles. In total, he played a combined 238 snaps on defense in the regular season and postseason.
The Chiefs plan to extend a tender offer ERFA CB Deandre Baker before March 16, the start of the NFL's new calendar year, per source.
Baker appeared in eight regular-season games with one start for the Chiefs in 2021.
— Herbie Teope (@HerbieTeope) March 10, 2022
With Charvarius Ward set to have a robust market in free agency, it makes plenty of sense to bring Baker back this season. He’ll likely compete for a starting role on the outside with a draft pick or another free agent signing. The team relied on him in a depth capacity this past offseason, so this will really be a chance for him to take a step forward in the system.
