Where should teams place franchise tag?
The NFL’S 2022 league year doesn’t begin until March 16, at which point players can officially begin to switch teams via free agency – assuming they have an expiring contract – or trade.yet the business of the NFL never truly comes to a halt, and Tuesday marked the start of a two-week window for teams to use the franchise tag in a bid to retain a pending free agent via a lucrative, position-specific, one-year tender. March 8 is the final day to tag eligible players.
So who’s in danger – prime free agents typically loathe tags because they restrict market freedom and don’t provide long-term security – of getting one given 10 players were franchised in 2021?
AFC East
Buffalo Bills – None: The AFC East champs don’t have a tag-worthy player ... and literally no cap space to accommodate one anyway.
Miami Dolphins – DE Emmanuel Ogbah: With more than $60 million in projected cap room, no team is more flush than the Fins. And if GM Chris Grier opts to use the tag, it’s probably best spent on his top pass rusher. Ogbah, 28, has figured things out during his two years in Miami, leading the team with nine sacks in both 2020 and 2021.
New England Patriots – CB J.C. Jackson: When you’re 26, are coming off a season in which you reach your first Pro Bowl and are a second-team All-pro while leading the league with 23 pass break-ups – not to mention an Nfl-best 22 interceptions over the past three years – then it doesn’t take an expert to know Jackson will very likely be tagged.
New York Jets – None: Though the Jets have nearly $50 million in unused cap space, no reason to allot a large percentage of it.
AFC North
Baltimore Ravens – None: They’ve currently got fewer than $10 million available and a bunch of free agents north of 30, none who warrant a tag.
Cincinnati Bengals – FS Jessie Bates III: After being ranked as the league’s No. 1 safety by Pro Football Focus in 2020, he had a relatively pedestrian 2021 by his own admission. But Bates, entering his age-25 season, is a key part of this team’s core.
Cleveland Browns – None: The Browns would be wise to hoard their cap space.
Pittsburgh Steelers – None: They’ve got funds, nearly $30 million, in reserve for a roster that will need significant work.
AFC South
Houston Texans – None: Even if they had a player deserving – and the Texans don’t – this team is in no position to waste that kind of money on a one-year gambit.
Indianapolis Colts – None: An organization that’s been built with a longterm outlook is facing short-term issues.
Jacksonville Jaguars – None: Franchising LT Cam Robinson was a mistake last year and would be a bigger one in 2022.
Tennessee Titans – OLB Harold Landry: He earned his first Pro Bowl nod by way of a career-best season that included personal highs of 12 sacks and 22 QB hits.
AFC West
Denver Broncos – None: GM George Paton has nearly $40 million to spend ... and should keep it in his back pocket.
Kansas City Chiefs – LT Orlando Brown: Acquired a year ago, he had a solid first season safeguarding QB Patrick Mahomes’ back.
Las Vegas Raiders – None: They have issues in the trenches but won’t have to limit their flexibility by depleting their payroll with a tag.
Los Angeles Chargers – WR Mike Williams: Given the Bolts’ resources – currently more than $55 million – no reason to let an ascending, 27-year-old playmaker who’s coming off his best season (76 catches for 1,146 yards and 9 TDS) get away.
NFC East
Dallas Cowboys – TE Dalton Schultz: If the Cowboys are going to employ the tag, Schultz should be the guy. At roughly $11 million for 2022, he’d come relatively cheap.
New York Giants – None: New GM Joe Schoen still has to free up roughly $12 million to get the team into cap compliance.
Philadelphia Eagles – None: They might have to replace starting safeties Anthony Harris and Rodney Mcleod but better to find a prudent path to accomplish that.
Washington Commanders – None: They have more than $30 million for their offseason budget but might need even more if they’re to pull off a deal for an established passer.
NFC North
Chicago Bears – None: Chicago needs a lot more long-term help before it starts moving in the right direction.
Detroit Lions – None: Unsurprisingly, they’ll be tag-free this year.
Green Bay Packers – WR Davante Adams: An All-pro over the past two seasons, when he’s emerged as the game’s most productive receiver – he has compiled a league-best 238 catches and 29 receiving TDS over that span, his 2,927 yards trailing only Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson.
Minnesota Vikings – None: New GM Kwesi Adofo-mensah doesn’t need to waste time fretting about a tag.
NFC South
Atlanta Falcons – K Younghoe Koo: He’s probably one of the game’s top five snipers at this point, having made 127 of 134 kicks (PATS and FGS combined) over the past two seasons.
Carolina Panthers – OLB Haason Reddick: It would be risky move, but can a team that only has one pick in the first three rounds of the upcoming draft afford to lose good players? He came to Charlotte and paced the Panthers with 11 sacks last year.
New Orleans Saints – FS Marcus Williams: Despite being franchised in 2021, he’s still younger (25) and cheaper to tag than soon-to-be-31-year-old LT Terron Armstead and has been among the steadiest safeties since entering the NFL in 2017.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – CB Carlton Davis: For a club poised to lose a lot of big names, Davis – he’s 25, plays a premium position and isn’t trying to come back from a major injury like WR Chris Godwin (ACL) – is probably the best choice for a tag.
NFC West
Arizona Cardinals – None: Their list of unsigned veterans is lengthy, but none should receive franchise-level payoffs.
Los Angeles Rams – None: The newly crowned champs have already shifted into “run it back” mode, but the 2022 team could look markedly different.
San Francisco 49ers – None: Unless QB Jimmy Garoppolo is dealt, they have neither cap space nor a first-round pick, that lost in the move for QB Trey Lance last year.
Seattle Seahawks – FS Quandre Diggs: Yes, that would be a lot of money tied up in safeties given Seattle just extended Jamal Adams, who wasn’t nearly as productive as Pro Bowl sidekick Diggs in 2021.
But regardless of what happens with QB Russell Wilson, it’s probably good business to reinvest in this defense – and GM John Schneider has nearly $35 million to play with – before taking a hard look at an offense likely to lose LT Duane Brown and RB Rashaad Penny, who surprisingly carried this team down the stretch in 2021.