The Baltimore Ravens have one of the league's best defenses and they're expected to use the franchise tag to help keep it intact. Common sense says the Ravens want to keep defensive lineman Haloti Ngata but, with the future labor uncertainty, it appears they'll be opting for the franchise tag in the short term while they work on a long term deal, according to Jason La Canfora of NFL Network.
Haloti Ngata Will ‘No Doubt’ Receive Franchise Tag From Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens could be the first team to go ahead and actually apply the tag. There is absolutely no doubt they place it on defensive tackle Haloti Ngata. He will get a massive new deal once there is a new CBA, but until then, the Ravens will take no chances. They don't want to insult Ngata with a low offer, according to sources, and will just go ahead and tag him before working to secure him for years to come once we have labor certainty.
Some teams have been avoiding long-term contracts because of the CBA uncertainty -- the deal expires on March 4 -- while others have gone ahead and worked around it. The Ravens, with such a large deal waiting for Ngata, would obviously prefer to understand all the tweaks with a new CBA before committing the money to Ngata.
This is a relatively easy situation for both sides because clearly they both want to get something done. The Ravens are using the franchise tag for what it was meant for -- buying some time to workout a long-term deal.
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