Baltimore Ravens restricted free agent offensive tackle Jared Gaither signed his one-year, $2.396 million dollar tender to avoid having his tender reduced, Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com reports.

Had Gaither not signed his tender by June 15, the Ravens would have had the option of reducing the tender amount to 110% of Gaither's 2009 base salary, or $506,000. By signing his tender before the deadline, Gaither assures himself that the $1.89 million dollar reduction does not take place.

Unlike franchise tags, restricted free agent tenders do not become guaranteed by putting ink to paper. Florio adds that Gaither signing the tender today does not indicate that a trade is in the works.

It is noteworthy, however, that Chris Brown of BuffaloBills.com is monitoring the restricted free agent tender status of San Diego Chargers offensive tackle Marcus McNeill.

The Bills have been in the market for a left tackle since trading Jason Peters to the Philadelphia Eagles prior to the 2009 NFL Draft. 2008 seventh-round pick Demetrius Bell is penciled in as the starting left tackle, and the Bills used a fifth-round pick on Virginia Tech offensive tackle Ed Wang, who has been working with the second-team offensive line. Wang suffered a high ankle sprain over the weekend, and will likely be sidelined until training camp.

Veteran Cornell Gren and second-year tackles Jamon Meredith, Nick Hennessy, and Jason Watkins round out the Bills' tackle depth chart.