ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Denver Broncos placed their franchise tag on kicker Matt Prater, the team announced on Monday.
"Placing the franchise tag on Matt Prater ensures that he will be a Bronco in 2012," Executive Vice President of Football Operations John Elway said. "He is a very talented kicker and an important part of our team. This gives us the ability to continue working on a long-term agreement with Matt."
Prater is coming of a year in which made four game-winning field goals and led the league in touchback percentage (70.1% / 47-of-67). Overall, Prater connected on 19-of-25 field goals and 30-of-30 extra-point attempts during the regular season to finish with 87 points. He also made all four field goal attempts and converted on 5-of-5 PATs in two postseason games for the Broncos.
Entering his sixth NFL season in 2012, Prater ranks second in team history in field goal percentage (80.4% / 90-of-112)—just behind franchise leader Jason Elam (80.6% / 395-of-490). He owns the best field goal percentage from 50-or-more yards (75.0% / 12-of-16) in NFL history (since 1970) and has converted on 28-of-29 (.966) career field goals in the fourth quarter or overtime.
Prater has earned several postseason honors from his 2011 campaign, including Top Professional Moment in the Denver Sports Top 9 Moments, presnted by Bank of the West, which he earned on March 1. He also helped the Broncos earn the GMC Never-Say-Never Moment of the Year and earned a spot in Broncos TV's top 10 plays of the season.
