The Arizona Cardinals have three players who will be restricted free agents next month — linebackers Dennis Gardeck and Ezekiel Turner and receiver Trent Sherfield.
All three made the team as undrafted rookies in 2018 and have been great special teams players in their first three seasons.
Because they are restricted free agents, the Cardinals can elect to control their destiny with a qualifying tender.
By tendering the players, the players can negotiate with other teams but the Cardinals will have the opportunity to match the offer. Depending on the tender, if the Cardinals elect not to match the offer, they can get draft compensation.
According to Over the Cap estimations, placing a first-round tender will pay the player more than $4.7 million and, if a team tries to sign him and the Cardinals refuse, the team that signs him will have to give up a first-round pick. A second-round tender would pay the player nearly $3.8 million and a team signing him would have to give the Cardinals their second-round pick if they chose not to match the offer.
An original-round tender will pay the player more than $2.1 million and the team would give up a draft pick from the round the player was selected originally. That will not apply to any of these players because they were undrafted free agents when they entered the league.
Should the Cardinals use these tenders on Gardeck, Turner and Sherfield like they did last year with kicker Zane Gonzalez?
