QB franchise tag set at $19.95 million
NEW YORK — If the Washington Redskins decide to place the franchise tag on quarterback Kirk Cousins, it will cost them $19.95 million for 2016 under the values agreed upon by the NFL and the players’ union.
Cousins is one of the more high-profile players whose contracts have expired, and quarterbacks carry the biggest tag numbers.
The franchise designation is worth the average of the top five salaries at a player’s position or 120 percent of the value of his 2015 salary, whichever is higher. Teams secure the rights to continue negotiations with that player even as the league’s free agency period begins, which this year is March 9.
Teams have until today to use the franchise or transition tag on a scheduled free agent.
The salary cap for next season is $155.27 million, an increase of about $12 million per team from 2015.
The next most expensive position for a franchise tag is defensive end at $15.7 million, according to numbers made official Monday.
Wide receivers would cost just under $14.6 million, followed by linebackers ($14.1 million), cornerbacks ( just under $14 million) and offensive linemen ($13.7 million).
Defensive tackles ($13.6 million), running backs ($11.78 million), safeties ($10.8 million), tight ends ($9.1 million) and punters/ kickers ($4.57 million) follow
Transition tag numbers call for quarterbacks to receive $17.696 million, followed by defensive ends at $12.734 million. A transition tag allows the player to negotiate with other teams, but his current club has the right of first refusal to match any offer.
Other transition tags: wide receiver, $12,268 million; linebacker, $11.925 million; cornerback, $11.913 million; offensive linemen, $11.902 million; defensive tackle, $10.875 million; running back, $9.647 million; safety,$9.116 million; tight end,$7.713 million; and punter/kicker. $4.123 million.
The Jets will be placing the franchise tag on defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson, a person familiar with the decision told the Associated Press on Monday
Baltimore has tagged kicker Justin Tucker and Chicago tagged wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, who has until July 15 to reach a multi-year deal or play next season for $14.6 million.
The Bears opted to use the non-exclusive tag, allowing Jeffery to negotiate with other teams. But Chicago would have the right to match any offer he receives. If Jeffery signs elsewhere, that organization would have to send the Bears two first-round draft picks.
The move comes on the heels of an injury-plagued year in which Jeffery led the team with 807 yards despite being limited to nine games. Jeffery played in all 16 games the previous two years, finishing with 1,421 yards in 2013 and 1,133 in 2014.
The Bears envisioned Jeffery forming a one-two combination with rookie Kevin White. Those plans got put on hold with White missing the season because of a stress fracture in his left shin.
Another top player whose contract is up and is likely to get franchise tagged is linebacker Von Miller, the Super Bowl MVP for Denver.
Fellow standout defender Josh Norman represents a $14 million decision to make for defending NFC champ Carolina. The Panthers have to choose whether to use the franchise tag on the All-Pro cornerback, who had a breakout season in 2015 and helped them reach the Super Bowl for the first time in 12 years.
The team began negotiations with Norman’s agents last week at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis in hopes of reaching a long-term contract with the team’s top cornerback. While talks are ongoing, the Panthers could use the franchise tag in the meantime, essentially taking Norman off the free-agent market.
Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman has repeatedly said that using the franchise tag on Norman — a move that would pay him $13.952 million guaranteed in 2016 — is a possibility.
Gettleman said at a news conference last week in Indianapolis that he “isn’t in the business of developing players for other teams” and wants to keep the team’s core together.
Norman was a fifthround draft pick by the Panthers in 2012 out of Coastal Carolina and has settled nicely into a starter role after a bumpy start with Carolina.
“We are going to have the conversation and do the best we can. We are going to try to get a deal done,” Gettleman said. “If not, there are options, and maybe the tag gets used.”
The 28-year-old Norman had four interceptions in the first four games of the 2015 season, returning two of those for touchdowns. One of those interceptions came when he leaped backward in the end zone and brought down a Luke McCown pass in the final minutes, helping Carolina secure a win against the New Orleans Saints and put Norman on the national radar.
After Norman was named NFC defensive player of the month for September, teams rarely threw to his side of the field. Although he didn’t intercept a pass the rest of the season, Norman was selected to his first Pro Bowl and earned All-Pro honors.
Opposing QBs had a 54.0 rating when throwing at Norman — the lowest allowed by all NFL corners.