Remember Us
by Dave Gardner
As free agency nears, Dave Gardner takes a look at the guys who will be left out.
It’s the simplest message that a player can give. There’s a lot of negativity associated with the franchise tag, but why? For many players, they are “hot” going into free agency, and rather than signing one-year contracts and risking injuries, they want to sign long-term deals with big-time money. They don’t want to be forgotten. But for all of the negativity, no one has really ever been afflicted by the franchise tag. In fact, the players typically get huge salaries from the tag itself, and then go on to sign long-term deals. Walter Jones was tagged for three years in a row, and Nate Clements was tagged for two years in a row; but they continued to play (and be paid) at a high level and then signed long-term deals.
In 2006, five players received either the franchise or transition tags: John Abraham (DE, Jets), Jeff Backus (OT, Lions), Nate Clements (CB, Bills), DeShaun Foster (RB, Panthers), and Steve Hutchinson (OG, Seahawks). Of those players, only two - Foster and Backus - are still with their teams. Hutchinson, Abraham, and Clements all went on to sign very lucrative deals after playing a year under the “chokehold” of the franchise tag.
In 2007, seven players received the franchise tag (after the Steve Hutchinson “poison pill” contract, the transition tag serves very little purpose): Lance Briggs (LB, Bears), Justin Smith (DE, Bengals), Corey Redding (DT, Lions), Asante Samuel (CB, Patriots), Charles Grant (DE, Saints), Dwight Freeney (DE, Colts) and Josh Brown (K, Seahawks). Three players - Redding, Grant, and Freeney - all signed very large deals before the season began and will be with their respective teams for the balance of their careers. As for Briggs, Smith, Samuel, and Brown, they will all be going to the highest bidder, presumably by March 3rd.
Let’s take a look at the players who have been franchised (is anyone else tired of the franchise tag always having to be “slapped” on someone? Come on, there are plenty of verbs out there):
Cowboys - Ken Hamlin, S ($4.4 million): The last player to be tagged, the move was likely a result of the lack of quality safeties that will be available in free agency. After Dwight Smith was cut, the Vikings were expected to be suitors. Fearing that they would not be able to get a deal in place by March, the Cowboys opted to put the tag on Hamlin, who had the best season of his career alongside Roy Williams. He had 62 tackles, defended 20 passes and 5 interceptions.
Titans - Albert Haynesworth, DT ($7.25 million): It’s funny how quickly a player can go from villain to hero. Last year, Haynesworth was suspended for an unprecedented five games for stomping on the head of Cowboys Center Andre Gurode. This year, his play was nothing short of spectacular, frequently demanding a double team inside. However, signing a guy with a questionable history to a long-term deal is a bad move, and kudos to the Titans playing into the hype of his performance during his contract year.
Packers - Corey Williams, DT ($7.25 million): Williams played in all 16 games this season, but only started nine. Nonetheless, this is an excellent move by the Packers, they are very deep at defensive tackle, but Williams is a truly special player. This season he had over 50 tackles and 7 sacks. The defensive line was one of the key strengths of the team last year, and this will give the team another year to develop last year’s first-round selection, Justin Harrell.
Seahawks - Marcus Trufant, CB ($9.5 million): Marcus Trufant may be the most deserving guy on the list, which seems like hyperbole considering the other names on the list. He had 7 interceptions this year, and was rarely beaten for a deep pass, despite poor safety play. His playoff performance against the Redskins was spectacular.
Raiders - Nnamdi Asomugha, CB (Exclusive, $9.8 million): After an excellent 2006, it seemed like Asomugha didn’t play very well this season. He is an above-average cover guy who is much better when he plays in bump-and-run coverage. He fits well into the Raiders man coverage schemes, but he had a lot more interceptions last season when the Raiders defensive line (and whole defense) was playing better. That’s not a coincidence.
Colts - Dallas Clark, TE (Signed to long-term): On the same day that Dallas Clark was franchised, he signed a six-year extension to stay with the Colts. Clark is frequently Peyton Manning’s security blanket, and he is dangerous any time he gets his hands on the ball, as evidenced by his 10-plus ypc. He plays split out, in the slot, and on the line, and he plays very well in every position. He is a huge mismatch for linebackers, and the Colts are able to run the ball well when a corner covers him.
Panthers - Jordan Gross, OT ($8.6 million): The Panthers are trying to piece together the puzzle of their offensive line right now. After a season-ending injury to Travelle Wharton, Gross was able to move successfully to the left side of the line. The Panthers recently resigned Wharton, release guard Mike Whale, and will likely move Justin Hartwig inside or trade him. Last year’s second round pick, Ryan Kalil will likely be the team’s starting center.
Ravens - Terrell Suggs, LB ($8.1 million): “Sizzle” is a very important player in the Ravens defense, and with no intention to offend Ray Lewis, he is clearly their best and most versatile linebacker. The only problem seems to be that he is going to gripe about money. He’s already said that he wants more money than Dwight Freeney got last year (6 years, $72 million), and thinks he should be tagged as a defensive end instead of linebacker because it’s worth about $800,000 more.
Chiefs - Jared Allen, DE ($8.9 million): His play is good enough to give him consideration as the best defensive end in the game, but he has had some trouble with alcohol in the past. He went into a mandatory rehabilitation program, and served a two-game suspension at the beginning of the season. He still led the NFL in sacks! Despite all of his problems, the Chiefs are going to do everything they can to keep him.
Bengals - Stacy Andrews, OL ($8.6 million): Seriously? This is two years in a row that the Bengals have franchised an absolutely undeserving player. It’s like they’re not exactly sure of the franchise tag’s purpose. Andrews has only started 17 games in the NFL, and he is little more than a pretty good guard and mediocre tackle. All the franchise tag will do is make negotiating a decent extension with him and his agent impossible.
Eagles - L.J. Smith, TE ($4.5 million): This is another interesting, yet substantially less surprising use of the franchise tag. L.J. Smith is a pretty good tight end, who excels in run blocking and route running. It seems now that McNabb will indeed be the quarterback of the Eagles next season because Smith is one of his favorite targets. The money isn’t bad to franchise a tight end, so the move is logical, but Smith seems to think that he deserves much more money. He’ll find out in 2009.
Cardinals - Karlos Dansby, LB ($8.1 million): The Cardinals have an interesting salary cap situation now that Dansby is tagged, $24.5 million dollars - or 20 percent of their cap space - is tied up in him and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. Dansby is a great young linebacker who has gotten better in each consecutive year in the league. Last year he almost amassed 100 tackles, defended 8 passes, and had 3 interceptions. One the Cardinals figure out the Fitzgerald mess, they will likely focus on locking Dansby up for a while.