NFL Free agency: Nick Gates signs new contract
Offensive lineman Nick Gates has found his home for the 2023 NFL season. The versatile 27-year-old lineman has agree to a new contract with the Washington Commanders, according to Mike Garafalo.
Gates suffered a broken fibula and tibia against Washington in 2021, and now he finds his way onto the Commanders for the next three seasons.
Gates went undrafted in the 2018 NFL Draft and signed with the New York Giants that spring. He spent the next five seasons with the Giants. He started 16 games during the 2020 season and the first two games of the 2021 season before breaking his tibia and fibula in his left leg. He missed nearly 14 months due to the injuries before returning this season.
He attended Nebraska, where he was a three-year starter. He started out at right tackle before moving to left tackle. His final year, he was an All-Big Ten honorable mention player.
More on the 2023 NFL offseason, free agency
The NFL 2023 calendar year is set to begin at 4 p.m. ET on March 15 when contracts running through 2022 will officially run out, making those players free agents. Prior to the beginning of free agency, teams will have a chance to designate one franchise or transition tag player, starting on Feb. 21 at 4 p.m. ET and ending on March 7. Beginning March 13 through March 15 teams will be allowed a legal negotiation with players who are set to become unrestricted free agents.
In addition to NFL free agency, the new year also marks the beginning of all trades being made official by the league office. April 21 marks the deadline to sign restricted free agents to offer sheets while April 26 marks the deadline for teams to match restricted free agent offers sheets. 722 players are slated to become free agents in 2023.
More on restricted, exclusive rights free agents
Players with only three years of accredited NFL experience become restricted free agents. Their original team will have the option to apply first-round, second-round, original-round, and right-of-fight-of-first-refusal tenders on players at escalating price tags. The higher the round, the more expensive the tender amount; however, if a separate team does offer a contract and the original team does not match that round pick will be conveyed from the new team to the original team. Right of first refusal only gives a team the option to match or not. If they don’t match, they get nothing in return. An original-round tender would send a draft pick from whatever round the player was drafted back to the original team if they chose not to match. The original team will have five days to match once a player signs an offer sheet from a new team.