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Steve Luciano / Associated Press
Early July can be a bit of a dead period in the NFL offseason. The project is long overdue, free agency activities have slowed considerably and training camps are not expected to start until the end of the month. For many fans, it may seem like nothing notable is happening in July.
However, there is a date that generally arrives in the middle of the month that carries a ton of weight for a few selected players: the deadline for franchise tags.
This is the point of the year in the league after which players who are granted the franchise or transition can no longer sign an extension of several years. They either play on the one-year franchise offer or they don’t play at all. This can be particularly problematic for players who flatly refuse to play on the franchise tag, often due to its lack of long-term security.
This year, six of the 16 players marked remain unsigned with just over a week before the 2020 deadline (4 p.m. ET July 15). We will examine them and their situations here. But first, a reminder on the 10 other players who were marked in 2020.
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Ron Jenkins / Associated Press
The 10 players who have been tagged and who have already signed their offer are:
Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas Cowboys
Brandon scherff, OG, Washington
Leonard Williams, DL, New York Giants
Bud Dupree, LB, Pittsburgh Steelers
Hunter henry, TE, Los Angeles Chargers
Joe Thuney, ET, New England Patriots
Matthew Judon, LB, Baltimore Ravens
Anthony Harris, S, Minnesota Vikings
Derrick Henry, RB, Tennessee Titans
Kenyan Drake, RB, Arizona Cardinals (transition label)
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Mark LoMoglio / Associated Press
Tampa Bay Buccaneers pass-rusher Shaquil Barrett led the NFL with 19.5 sacks in his first season with the franchise. He also has perhaps the easiest situation to digest from anyone on this list.
In other words, if Barrett and the Buccaneers fail to reach a long-term deal by the deadline, he will sign the one-year tender and play for Tampa in 2020.
“We are always trying to find something. The franchise label, if I do nothing, I will sign it for sure,” he said, according to Rick Stroud of Tampa Bay Times. “But it’s just that we’re still trying to work to do something, and we’re just going to wait as long as possible to try to do it.”
The Buccaneers made sure Barrett didn’t hit the open market by scoring it, and that was the main goal of the offseason. While concluding a long-term deal now is ideal, Tampa will likely just let it play on this one-year deal.
Given that Barrett has only produced 14 bags in four seasons – technically five, although he did not play as a rookie – with the Denver Broncos, there is a chance that his 2019 season will be a blow luck. It will be worth $ 15.8 million in 2020 for the Buccaneers.
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W. Victoria / Associated Press
The Cincinnati Bengals have used the franchise label on seven times AJ Green’s Pro Bowler. Although he is 31 and comes from a season lost due to an ankle injury, it made sense to do so, as he can be a veteran target of choice for rookie quarterback Joe Burrow.
According to former Green Bay Packers player James Jones, Green could even return to a Pro Bowl level in 2020.
“There are a lot of talented players on this team for Cincinnati, and AJ Green is the biggest,” said Jones on the NFL Network. “You have other weapons on the side, so individual coverage for him, and he’s going to have a great year.”
The problem is that Green has not yet signed its franchise offer. There hasn’t been much buzz from Cincinnati about his situation, but chances are he wants long-term security after last year’s injury season.
Since Green has only had one 1,000-yard campaign in the past three seasons, Cincinnati shouldn’t be impatient to give it a long-term deal.
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Michael Conroy / Associated Press
Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue is one of the most overlooked young defensemen in the game. The Maryland product has accumulated at least eight sacks in each of its four professional seasons, and it could be a defensive centerpiece for any team.
However, it probably won’t be a staple for the Jaguars. He was not happy with the franchise tag and publicly lobbied for an exchange. As Gary Davenport of The Bleacher Report recently explained, a swap is what Jacksonville should consider:
“From the time Jacksonville slapped the franchise label on edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue, the 25-year-old made it clear that not only did he not intend to play under this label in 2020, but he didn’t want to play another break with the franchise. After accumulating 37.5 bags in four seasons with the Jaguars, Ngakoue wants to go out.“
He does not feel that he has an interest in signing a long-term agreement or his franchise offer. If the Jaguars are going to make the most of it, they should trade it in for free time before the July 15 deadline so that Ngakoue’s new employer has a chance to sign this long-term contract.
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Steve Luciano / Associated Press
Defensive tackle Chris Jones is arguably the most important piece of defense for the Kansas City Chiefs. After going from defense inside, it turned out to be a terror for the opposing quarters by constantly putting pressure in the middle. He finished 2019 with nine take-out bags with 36 tackles.
By the end of 2018, he had accumulated 15.5 bags.
Unfortunately, Jones and the chiefs can head for a dead end. The Mississippi State product recently responded on Twitter to a suggestion from Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network that a deal of less than $ 20 million per season might not be enough.
“Or I won’t play,” Jones tweeted. “Le’Veon Bell told me about it.”
Bell experienced the 2018 season rather than playing on the franchise label with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Although he finally got his long-term salary from the New York Jets the last off-season, his Pro Bowl form never returned.
It would be up to the chefs to make a long-term deal with Jones, although the team may need to be creative to do so. Kansas City has just over $ 3.5 million in ceiling space. If an agreement cannot be reached, trading in Jones before the deadline should be considered.
If the Chiefs allow Jones to sit in 2020, they risk losing him for nothing the next off-season.
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Adrian Kraus / Associated Press
After a solid 2019 season – 93 tackles, 15 defensive assists, four interceptions – safety Justin Simmons has received the Denver Broncos franchise label. Both parties remain active in long-term negotiations.
“We made an offer to them, they made an offer to us, so we’re in active talks with Justin,” said general manager John Elway.
If a long-term deal isn’t reached by July 15, Denver probably doesn’t have to worry about losing Simmons for the season. While Yannick Ngakoue and Chris Jones both suggested they could hold on in 2020, Simmons gave no such indication. In fact, he was publicly enthusiastic about the Broncos quarterback Drew Lock and the season ahead.
“This is probably the thing that excites me the most for this season,” Simmons told Adam Lefkoe of the Bleacher Report. “I know everyone says it, but he even in the locker room and behind the camera and the closed doors, he has that feeling of confidence.”
While an extension would give Simmons and the Broncos some peace of mind, it seems likely that he will play on the tag if he doesn’t get one before the deadline.
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Matt Rourke / Associated Press
Edge-rusher Markus Golden is in a unique situation in that he has not received the franchise tag or the transition tag. Instead, the New York Giants slapped him with an unrestricted free agent offer, commonly known as the “May 5” offer.
This label has a different payment and maturity formula than that of franchise and transition labels, such as Patricia Traina de Forbes recently explained.
“If Golden remains unsigned by July 22 or the start of the first NFL training camp, whichever occurs later, its rights will revert to the Giants at an” advantageous “price of 110% of what that he won last season minus the $ 1 million performance bonus. he won to reach a double-digit bag incentive, “wrote Traina.
Essentially, Golden has until July 22 to sign with another team, if not the only team they can play for in 2020 is New York. The problem for him is that no other team seems interested, according to Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.
For the Giants, there is nothing to do here except to let the situation of Golden play.
Information on contracts and ceilings via Spotrac.
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