Report: Franchise tags coming for Kirk Cousins, Alshon Jeffery
The two-week window for NFL teams to designate a player as their 2016 franchise tag recipient opened 10 days ago and ends on Tuesday. And while most teams have known for weeks if they’ll use their tag and if so, on which player, we’re just now starting to get news on who those teams and players are.
Earlier Friday, the agent for Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker announced via Twitter that his client had been tagged, a move that was expected, just as it is expected the Ravens and Tucker will work out a long-term deal before the July deadline.
On Friday afternoon, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that both Washington quarterback Kirk Cousins and Chicago Bears receiver Alshon Jeffery will be tagged.
On Cousins, Schefter added that the team is deciding whether to use the franchise tag or transition tag.
There are three versions of the tag: the exclusive tag, which is an average of the top-five salaries at a given player’s position or 120 percent of his previous year’s salary, whichever is greater, and the player can negotiate with only his team; the non-exclusive tag is the same financially but allows a player to negotiate with other teams. His current team can match any offer the player receives, or can receive up to two first-round draft picks in return. There transition tag is the average of the top 10 salaries at a player’s position, allows players to negotiate with other teams but gives his current team right of first refusal.
Financially, using the transition tag vs. the exclusive or non-exclusive tag on Cousins would save Washington about $2 million against the cap – exact figures aren’t yet set, but currently the working numbers for quarterback are $19.6 million and $17.5 million. But the non-exclusive or transition tags also open Washington up to the possibility of Cousins negotiating with other teams.
The “poison pill” was eliminated in the 2010 collective bargaining agreement, but another team could front-load a contract proposal for Cousins, making it difficult for Washington, which currently is only about $8 million under the projected 2016 salary cap, to match the deal.
Jeffery played in just nine games last season due to injury, and there are reports that the Bears and his agents have met in Indianapolis, working toward getting a deal done without the team having to tag the 2012 second-round pick.
Receiver carries the third-highest tag amount – $14.4 million or $12 million (for the transition) – if the Bears do decide to tag Jeffery. Chicago has tons of cap space, so that hit wouldn’t hurt the team if it goes that route.
