Players to watch in NFL tag game
The window for NFL teams to use the franchise tag on one of their pending free agents opened Tuesday. It’s a dicey mechanism, one that effectively ties a free agent to his team, courtesy of a lucrative one-year contract – a deal less-established players often jump at but more-established players bridle against due to the lack of longterm security they’re afforded.
Teams have until March 9 to use their franchise or (less lucrative) transition tag. Tagged players will still have the opportunity to sign long-term extensions in lieu of the tag until July or can even negotiate an offer sheet with another team (assuming he doesn’t carry the “exclusive” tag) willing to part with two first-round picks for his services – a rare occurrence.
Fifteen teams – nearly half the league – used a tag in 2020. However in the previous six years, only about a half-dozen teams employed a tag on average. And 2021 is likely to see a major reduction in tag usage from last year given a pandemic-induced drop in revenue will shrink the salary cap, not to mention the fact that fewer superstars have expiring contracts.
We looked at the financial situation of all 32 teams to come up with a franchise tag recommendation for each:
AFC East
Buffalo Bills – None: Be nice to keep starting LB Matt Milano and RT Daryl Williams, but neither merits a tag, nor do the Bills have the money to spend.
Miami Dolphins – None: QB Ryan Fitzpatrick is their most prominent free agent but obviously no sense in tagging a backup, even a high-end one like FitzMagic.
New England Patriots – None: They have the cap space to tag QB Cam Newton, C David Andrews or G Joe Thuney, who was franchised last year. But Newton is no longer worth that kind of investment or likely to generate a huge market, and it’s always dicey paying interior blockers what’s essen
tially left tackle money.
New York Jets – FS Marcus Maye: He probably had a better year than former back-line teammate Jamal Adams did in Seattle. And the Jets have ample cap room to afford a valuable young player like Maye, 27, who’s played all 16 games in three of his four NFL seasons.
AFC North
Baltimore Ravens – None: OLB Matt Judon is a steady, productive player, however tagging him a second time would cost $20.2 million. This defense also stands to lose Yannick Ngakoue, Pernell McPhee and Derek Wolfe from the front seven, but Baltimore can surely find more prudent ways to address this area than the tag.
Cincinnati Bengals – None: DE Carl Lawson, 25, just had his best season ... but not tag worthy.
Cleveland Browns – None: DE Olivier Vernon’s strong finish in 2020 might have put him under consideration ... until he blew out an Achilles in the regularseason finale.
Pittsburgh Steelers – None: A team that’s already spent well beyond the cap can’t afford anything while QB Ben Roethlisberger’s financial situation ($41.25 million cap hit in 2021) remains unresolved. But as nice as it would be to keep RB James Conner, WR JuJu SmithSchuster, DL Tyson Alualu, OL Matt Feiler, LT Alejandro Villanueva and OLB Bud Dupree, who was franchised in 2020 and was having a sensational season before tearing his ACL in December – perhaps the mortal blow to Pittsburgh’s season – it’s going to be quite the fiscal challenge to retain any of them.
AFC South
Houston Texans – WR Will Fuller V: He was in the midst of a career season, producing 80 receiving yards per game, until a performance-enhancing drug suspension cut it short. If Deshaun Watson returns, it would be sensible to tag Fuller. But if the superstar quarterback extricates himself from Houston, probably makes more sense to let Fuller go and pick up the compensatory draft pick he’d return in 2022.
Indianapolis Colts – None: WR T.Y. Hilton, DE Justin Houston and CB Xavier Rhodes are the types of veteran contributors a playoff team needs. But all will be at least 31 next season and would probably have to return for the price the Colts set for each of them.
Jacksonville Jaguars – None: Be nice to have LT Cam Robinson in place to protect presumed No. 1 pick Trevor Lawrence ... but not for $15 million-plus.
Tennessee Titans – WR Corey Davis: The No. 5 pick of the 2017 draft finally began living up to the hype in 2020 with a career year. Davis’ tag would be significantly more due to his position than ascending TE Jonnu Smith. But Tennessee might want to find a way to keep a weapon who makes defenses pay for stacking the box against RB Derrick Henry, even though it would have to make some recalculations elsewhere on the roster.
AFC West
Denver Broncos – S Justin Simmons: He’s emerged as one of the league’s premier safeties the past two seasons, though tagging him again will cost $13.7 million – but it’s an investment new GM George Paton can afford to make.
Kansas City Chiefs – None: Austin Reiter, one of the game’s better centers, is an option ... especially as it pertains to protecting franchise QB Patrick Mahomes. But with the O-line likely to get reinforcements back, and the AFC champs already needing to cut nearly $25 million in salary, a tag doesn’t make much sense.
Las Vegas Raiders – None: It would be nice to hang on to WR Nelson Agholor after he turned in his best year ... but not for approximately $20 million given the cap crunch Vegas is already in.
Los Angeles Chargers – None: DE Melvin Ingram III will be 32 in April and didn’t record a sack in 2020. That leaves last year’s franchised player, TE Hunter Henry, but $12.7 million is a lot to give a good (but not great) player who’s never reached even 700 receiving yards.
NFC East
Dallas Cowboys – QB Dak Prescott: Definitely appears we’re headed to another tag, this one for $37.7 million, that will probably force the Cowboys to cut other players in order to be cap-compliant once the league year begins March 17. A long-term deal for Prescott surely seems to be in all parties’ best interests, though Dallas brass is getting squeezed harder by a financial vise of its own making.
New York Giants – DL Leonard Williams: An exceptional run defender coming off a career-best 11 1⁄2 sacks, he was probably the Giants’ best player in 2020. Tagging Williams, who’s only 26, a second time will cost $19.3 million – a big number to consider for a team that has several holes to fill but potentially worth it if it means a long-term contract eventually.
Philadelphia Eagles – None: Nobody worth tagging and no cap space available anyway.
Washington Football Team – G Brandon Scherff: He was an All-Pro for the first time in 2020. He’s also a 29year-old interior lineman who hasn’t played a full season in the past four years and would be due $18 million for another tag. Interesting calculus.
NFC North
Chicago Bears – WR Allen Robinson: They have to consider a tag given the season Robinson just had (102 catches, 1,250 yards, 6 TDs). But is it worth giving a wideout something in the neighborhood of $20 million when you don’t know who the quarterback will be?
Detroit Lions – WR Kenny Golladay: An awfully good player who’s only 27, he also missed 11 games last season and might not help the Lions be that much more relevant in 2021. Could be the kind of guy you tag and try to trade for reasonable draft pick compensation – though new GM Brad Holmes would have to find cap space to accommodate a tag after taking on QB Jared Goff ’s ginormous contract.
Green Bay Packers – None: The NFC finalists don’t have the financial bandwidth to tag anyone right now ... though RB Aaron Jones or All-Pro C Corey Linsley would be deserving.
Minnesota Vikings – None: S Anthony Harris, who didn’t pick off a pass after tying for the league lead with six in 2019, doesn’t warrant another tag.
NFC South
Atlanta Falcons – K Younghoe Koo: It might seem silly to franchise a kicker, but it doesn’t actually cost that much – just $5 million a year ago – and Koo, 26, is coming off his first Pro Bowl effort.
Carolina Panthers – RT Taylor Moton: This team has been busily amassing cap space, perhaps to make a run at a quarterback (Prescott? Watson?). But it would also be smart to have enough in reserve to pay a capable 26-year-old blocker to protect whoever is taking the snaps in 2021.
New Orleans Saints – None: No team’s cap is in more disarray. The Saints have to shed about $70 million by next month, which doesn’t give them the flexibility to tag QB Jameis Winston, S Marcus Williams or DE Trey Hendrickson.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – OLB Shaquil Barrett: The Bucs have some cap space but not nearly enough to re-sign a laundry list of free agents that includes WR Antonio Brown, longtime LB Lavonte David, RB Leonard “Playoff Lenny” Fournette, TE Rob Gronkowski, K Ryan Succop and DL Ndamukong Suh. WR Chris Godwin, who will be 25 next season, seemed like the obvious tag choice just a few weeks ago. But Barrett, who would command a $19 million tag because he was franchised in 2020, served a playoff reminder of how important the pass rush is after registering four combined sacks in the NFC title game and Super Bowl 55.
NFC West
Arizona Cardinals – OLB Haason Reddick: The 2017 first-rounder (finally) exploded in 2020, used as a pass rusher and responding with 12 1⁄2 sacks, tied for fourth in the league. Hard to let a 26-year-old finally reaching his potential walk for nothing.
Los Angeles Rams – None: They’d doubtless love to keep S John Johnson and OLB Leonard Floyd but simply can’t afford either at this point.
San Francisco 49ers – None: Perennial Pro Bowl LT Trent Williams, 32, was Pro Football Focus’ top-rated tackle in 2020. But the Niners better get an extension done soon – his contract precludes him from being tagged this year.
Seattle Seahawks – None: RB Chris Carson seems like the most obvious candidate, but he’s had too many injuries and played only 38% of the snaps in 2020. Not a luxury Seattle can afford.