"Contract negotiations between the Broncos and star cornerback Champ Bailey have resumed.

"He's a guy we have strong feelings about," coach John Fox said. "We've had some dialogue there. There have been discussions.

"He's a guy we definitely want to bring back. You never know how things like that work out, but we're moving forward as best we know how."

Bailey recently completed his seven-year, $63 million contract with his 10th Pro Bowl appearance, a record among NFL cornerbacks. He will be eligible for un-restricted free agency once the league and the players union reach a settlement on a new collective bargaining agreement.

While a few teams have applied franchise tags to their most prominent unrestricted free agents, the Broncos aren't expected to take that strategy with Bailey because doing so would essentially guarantee him a whopping $15 million salary for the 2011 season.

But the Broncos have used the two-week, franchise-tag window to reopen talks with Bailey on a multiyear extension.

To caution, the team and Bailey have been through this before. They were deep in negotiations on four-year contract extension that would have been worth more than $40 million until the team halted talks in early October."