Scott Logush
Sports Editor
The franchise tag window is open in the NFL, and in this post, I’ll keep track of all the players tagged, some highlights of that player’s season that led to them being tagged, and whether I think a long-term deal will get done before the deadline in July.
Daron Payne: Washington Commanders, DT $18.937 Million
The first player to get tagged this offseason is interior defensive lineman Daron Payne of the Washington Commanders, per Adam Schefter. Payne set a career-high in pressures with 49, and a career-high in sacks with 11.5, and you typically do not let players who set career-highs at age 25 walk in free agency. Overall the Washington Commanders have over $16 million in cap space after applying the tag to Payne. I feel Payne will command a contract of around $20-22 million per season, topping Leonard Williams and DeForest Buckner’s APY while staying far below Aaron Donald’s. However, that would mean the two highest cap hits on Washington’s salary cap would be for two interior defensive linemen. I think Washington has Payne play out the season on the tag to see if he can replicate his production.
Evan Engram: Jacksonville Jaguars, TE, $11.345 Million
Engram is expected to get the tag, as reported by Adam Schefter. Engram had his most productive season since his rookie year with the New York Giants in 2017, and was more of a slot receiver than an actual tight end for Jacksonville. This is very apparent when looking at his snap alignments which ad 39.5% in the slot, 23.4% out wide, and 36.2% as an inline tight end during the regular season, per Pro Football Focus. This trend is consistent with his entire career, as his career snap alignments have him as a slot receiver 43.3% of the time, 14.5% out wide and 41.5% as an inline tight end. I wouldn’t be surprised if Engram fights the tag to get the receiver designation. Ultimately I doubt any type of long-term deal gets done and believe Engram will play under the tag in 2023.
This tag has been confirmed, per reports from Ian Rapoport.
Josh Jacobs: Las Vegas Raiders, RB, $10.09 Million
Josh Jacobs has not been officially tagged but is expected to be if he and the Raiders cannot agree on a new contract by Tuesday’s tag deadline, per Tom Pelissero. Jacobs had a career year with the Raiders under new head coach Josh McDaniels in 2022, as he set or tied career highs in every category including rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, and yards per carry. The nature of this tag is based on if a deal is reached, but I find a long-term deal very unlikely given the status of the Raiders’ apparent inability to guarantee money.
This move was also made official, per reports from Ian Rapoport.
Tony Pollard: Dallas Cowboys, RB, $10.09 Million
Tony Pollard is another running back expected to be tagged this offseason, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Pollard is coming off a career year which can be credited to him finally getting an increased workload. In past seasons he has made the most of a very limited number of touches and proved he deserved an increased opportunity, and he made the most of this season by rushing for over 1000 yards in a split backfield with Ezekiel Elliot. Similarly to Josh Jacobs, Pollard will be tagged if a new contract cannot be agreed upon, but Dallas needs to do some major work to pull off even a tag as they currently sit $7 million over the salary cap, according to overthecap.com. It will be a busy offseason for Jerry Jones.
As of March 6th, 2023, the Cowboys have officially tagged Tony Pollard per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Saquon Barkley: New York Giants, RB, $10.09 Million
The Giants managed to beat the buzzer and extend quarterback Daniel Jones, and as a result, Saqon Barkley is getting tagged, per Mike Garafolo.
Lamar Jackson: Baltimore Ravens, QB, $32.416 Million
Lamar Jackson is officially getting tagged, according to reports from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. It is the non-exclusive tag, meaning other teams can negotiate with Jackson and if they agree on a deal the Ravens can match it and keep Jackson, or they can receive two first-round picks. The team negotiating with Jackson must had a first-round pick in the upcoming 2023 NFL Draft.
