Pittsburgh Steelers place second round tender on kicker Chris Boswell

The Pittsburgh Steelers likely want to give kicker Chris Boswell a long-term contract, but they also realize they have to wait until the time is right. Boswell is a Restricted Free Agent (RFA) which means the Steelers have control over him, to an extent.

For those who don’t know how RFA tenders work, here is a quick explanation:

In the National Football League, a restricted free agent (RFA) is one with three accrued seasons (six or more regular season games with a team) of service, who has received a “qualifying” offer (a salary level predetermined by the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the league and its players, known as a “tender”) from his current club. He can negotiate with any club through a certain date. If the restricted free agent accepts an offer sheet from a new club, his old club has “right of first refusal,” a five-day period in which it may match the offer and retain him, or choose not to match the offer, in which case it may receive one or more draft picks for the upcoming draft from the player’s new club. If an offer sheet is not executed, the player’s rights revert to his old club the day after negotiations must end.

On Monday, the Steelers placed a second round tender on Boswell, which gives them the right to first refusal, and pays the placekicker just shy of $3 million dollars in 2018.

While Boswell, and most of the fan base, would feel more comfortable with the automatic kicker getting a longer contract, the Steelers have to create room, and have some bigger fish to fry before thinking about Boswell’s contract.

Stay tuned to BTSC for the latest on other free agent news and rumors, as well as anything else related to the black-and-gold.