Broncos shockingly not tendering RFA De’Vante Bausby
The Denver Broncos will not be tendering restricted free agent cornerback De’Vante Bausby, but have interest in bringing him back.
The Denver Broncos found a gem from the now-defunct AAF last offseason in cornerback De’Vante Bausby, who led the league in interceptions before signing a modest one-year deal with the Broncos as a free agent.
Although he’d bounced around the league previously and even had some experience with Vic Fangio and Ed Donatell in Chicago, Bausby had to put some things on tape in the AAF before getting an NFL call and he made the most of an opportunity with the Broncos while he was healthy in 2019.
Bausby was inserted into the starting lineup early on in the 2019 season for the Broncos and was playing well through the preseason and five regular season games (two starts) before suffering a scary injury against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Bausby was carted off against Los Angeles and placed on injured reserve shortly after the season, but has since fully recovered.
According to Troy Renck of ABC7 in Denver, the Broncos will not tender Bausby, who is a restricted free agent this offseason.
Per source, #Broncos don't plan to tender restricted free agent CB De'Vante Bausby. But they still have interest in bringing him back. He played well before suffering scary neck injury. He's healthy. Good dude. He has place in NFL. #Denver7
— Troy Renck (@TroyRenck) February 27, 2020
As much as the Broncos struggled with cornerback depth last year, it’s surprising that they would not bring Bausby back at the price of just $1.913 million, but then again, perhaps the Broncos don’t want to guarantee that much money to a guy who is coming off of a scary season-ending injury.
Renck’s report says that the Broncos won’t tender Bausby a restricted free agent contract, but they do have interest in bringing him back. Considering his fit in the defense, it would be great to see him in orange and blue for at least another season.
The Broncos certainly don’t need to bring Bausby back to be a starter in 2020, but he should be considered for depth.
Over the next month or so, Denver is going to make some big moves at this position. They are expected to be active on the free agent cornerback market and they could also dip their toes into the 2020 NFL Draft pool.
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Bringing back Bausby seemed like a no brainer based on his limited sample in 2019, but apparently the Broncos are willing to risk him negotiating with other teams to bring him back at a reduced price.