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Willis is the third of Denver's ten UFAs. Please remember that an unrestricted free agent is a player who: (a)has four accrued service years with the NFL, (b)is not currently under contract with an NFL team, (c)is free to negotiate a contract with any NFL team and (d)whose previous team is not entitled to any compensation for the player's signing with a new team. Let's take a look at Matthew:
Willis has been in the NFL for five seasons, four of those have been with the Broncos. He started as an undrafted rookie with Baltimore in 2007. Willis was signed to Denver's practice squad on December 23, 2008. He spent the rest of the 2008 season on the practice squad. He was waived by the Broncos on September 5, 2009, then re-signed to the practice squad. He was moved to the active roster on January 1, 2010. He broke a foot during a game against the New York Jets on October 17, 2010 and ended the season on the Injured Reserve list. He became a restricted free agent at the end of the 2011 season, but was re-signed on April 16, 2012.
In his four seasons as a Bronco, Willis has accumulated the following statistics:
Year | Games | Starts | Catches | Yards | Touchdowns |
2009 | 1 | 0 | 0 (11th Tie) | 0 (11th Tie) | 0 (11th Tie) |
2010 | 6 | 0 | 1 (13th Tie) | 17 (12th) | 0 (9th Tie) |
2011 | 16 | 0 | 18 (6th) | 267 (4th) | 1 (4th Tie) |
2012 | 15 | 0 | 10 (8th Tie) | 90 (8th) | 0 (8th Tie) |
In addition to receiving, Willis has returned 1 punt (0 yards) and 8 kick returns (163 yards), as well as making eight tackles on special teams, recovering an onside kick (12/16/12 at Baltimore) and caught Brock Osweiler's first career pass for a five-yard first down (12/30/12 versus Kansas City).
Next Up: Jason Hunter, Defensive End, UFA
Fight for Him or Let Him Walk - Brandon Stokley
A look at one of Denver's 2013 UFAs