When the clock struck 4 p.m. on Tuesday the NFL’s Franchise tag was officially off the table. We had a few no-brianers and a few more surprises get tagged. Just because a player didn’t get tagged, there’s no reason to believe the team he was on is done with him. In fact, I wouldn’t be shocked to see a few more contracts announced before free agency officially begins March 9.
Easy Calls
Justin Tucker, K, Baltimore Ravens; Alshon Jeffery, WR, Chicago Bears; Josh Norman, CB, Carolina Panthers; Von Miller, OLB, Denver Broncos; Kirk Cousins, QB, Washington Redskins
I wrote a three-part feature here before the Super Bowl making it clear that none of these players would be changing teams. You can read part one, part two and part three by clicking the links. If you were perusing the upcoming free agent lists and envisioned having any of these guys on your team, I’m sorry. The very notion was ridiculous.
Miller and Norman are both the cornerstones of their respective defenses and in their primes, coming off Super Bowl seasons. Tucker is the second straight kicker we’ve had franchised after Steve Gostkowski got tagged by New England last season. Jeffery is the only quality offensive weapon the Bears have and Cousins, well, what the hell else were the Redskins supposed to do?
From my HQ hit this AM: Redskins' offers to Kirk Cousins have topped $16M/year. Cousins' camp wants APY closer to the tag figure — $20M.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 2, 2016
No one would ever accuse the Redskins of being smart, but their is an intelligent play here with Cousins. The Redskins keep him after he’s coming off a career year and, yes, they spend money to do it, but they haven’t locked him in long term yet. Washington could hold off on negotiations until season’s end on a long-term deal. If Cousins puts up the same numbers, then the Redskins know they’ve found their franchise guy and can be comfortable locking him in. If not, then they cut him loose with no long-term salary cap damage. It’s smart. So smart you have a tough time believing the Redskins are doing it.
The Surprises
Muhammed Wilkerson, DE, New York Jets; Cordy Glenn, OT, Buffalo Bills; Olivier Vernon, DE, Miami Dolphins; Eric Berry, Safety, Kansas City Chiefs; Trumaine Johnson, CB, Los Angeles Rams
Cordy Glenn isn’t so much a tag surprise over his talent. Glenn was the best offensive tackle hitting free agency this year. It’s a suprise because, frankly, I don’t see how the Bills can afford it. With the $13.706 Glenn is slated to make under the tag plugged onto their current salaries, the Bills come into the rest of free agency and the NFL draft with a total of $1.548 million in cap space even after cutting Mario Williams. That’s it. That won’t even sign a draft class. Right now the Bills are sitting on over $12 million in dead money so needless to say, more cuts are coming.
Bills need cap space to absorb Cordy Glenn's franchise tag and try to keep Incognito, possibly add Bilal Powell
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) March 1, 2016
The Dolphins’ tag of Olivier Vernon makes even less sense. He had 61 tackles and 7.5 sacks last season. A good year, but hardly a transition-tag worthy performance. Vernon has only topped double-digit sacks one season, 11.5 in 2012. He’s a solid player and hasn’t missed a game in four seasons, but the Dolphins will be paying $12.734 million this year for that production.
As I mentioned earlier, the Dolphins had a number in mind for Olivier Vernon. It was not $15.7 million annually.
— Adam Beasley (@AdamHBeasley) March 1, 2016
Wilkerson and Johnson are both interesting cases. Like Cousins above, the Jets and Rams respectively could just be buying another year with these guys with no long-term cap problems if it doesn’t work out. The Rams have been working on a long-term deal with Janoris Jenkins, not Johnson, so it’s obvious to me they just tossed the tag on him to push those negotiations into the latter portion of the season. Don’t be surprised to see Jenkins sign before next Wednesday.
As I mentioned earlier, the Dolphins had a number in mind for Olivier Vernon. It was not $15.7 million annually.
— Adam Beasley (@AdamHBeasley) March 1, 2016
Wilkerson plays the same position that Sheldon Richardson and Leonard Williams do for the Jets, so my thinking here is this tag is just insurance on both those guys. They pay Wilkerson one more year to keep that three-man rotation intact with no real desire for a long-term contract unless Richardson or Williams get hurt or bottom out.
Berry is a great player and insanely popular in Kansas City, but they’ve got something like four starting caliber safeties under contract. Berry’s the best one, sure. But he’s also the most expensive.
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