Flurry Of Activity As Franchise Tag Deadline Passes

For more on Barth and the Bucs, head over to Tampa Bay Buccaneers blog Bucs Nation and SB Nation Tampa Bay.

If the Giants feel that Weatherford is one of the five best punters in the league, they don’t have salary cap problems and they didn’t have another player worthy of the tag, the move makes sense. The 29-year-old Weatherford posted career highs in average yards and net punting average in 2011 and has played for five different teams in his NFL career.

For more on Weatherford and the Giants, head over to New York Giants blog Big Blue View and SB Nation New York.

Just before the news dropped that Mathis would be tagged, Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star tweeted that Mathis and the team had come to a tentative agreement on a long-term contract and that he would not be slapped with the franchise tag. That contract is still coming, but the team put the tag on him as a precaution because of the looming franchise tag deadline.

Mathis, who is 31 years old, has played the entirety of his nine-year NFL career with the Colts. He recorded 9.5 sacks this season on a defense that badly underperformed around him, and he has been selected to the Pro Bowl four times in his career.

Bowe is clearly a worthy candidate for the franchise tag. He’s the Chiefs best receiver and led the league in touchdown receptions in 2010. He has accumulated over 995 yards receiving in four of his first five years in the league. The Chiefs will try to work on a long-term deal with him and they’ll have until July 15 to do so before Bowe enters the regular season under the tag.

For all news and information regarding the Kansas City Chiefs, please visit Arrowhead Pride.

The two sides will continue to work on a long-term deal.

The deadline to assign the franchise tag comes at 4 p.m. ET on Monday, March 5.

Welker is among the obvious franchise tag guys. He’s an integral part of New England’s highly successful offense and at 30 years old he still has several productive seasons ahead of him. This is an easy decision for New England.

The Patriots will have until July 15 to sign him to a long-term deal and, if they don’t, Welker will have to play the season under the estimated $9.4 million franchise tag number.

The franchise tag for kickers is projected at $2.9 million guaranteed for the 2012 season, which is what Prater will be paid if he signs and plays on the tender. Teams have until July 15 to work out a long-term contract and remove the franchise tag designation. Prater was a big piece to the Broncos puzzle during their six-game winning streak and trip to the NFL playoffs, successfully making some clutch kicks to win games or send them into overtime.

For more on Matt Prater and the Denver Broncos, visit SB Nation’s Broncos blog Mile High Report.

The two sides continue to negotiate on a long-term deal to keep Avril from going anywhere. They have until July 15 to come up with a deal or else Avril has to play the year on the franchise tender. Avril previously indicated he wouldn’t be giving the Lions a hometown discount, so it will likely be expensive to keep him for an extended time.

Avril has shined on a defensive line full of stars. He was originally a third-round pick in the 2008 NFL draft and comes off his best year as a pro with 11 sacks. The Lions defensive line is scary, and keeping Avril should continue that. He’s only 25 years old, so he could be just getting started.

NFL free agency is right around the corner, but first we must get through the franchise tag period. Starting on February 20, teams were allowed to apply the franchise tag. The deadline to do so comes on Monday, March 5 at 4:00 p.m. ET.

The franchise tag came into existence with the 1993 CBA (which also brought to us free agency), and it was meant to be pretty much what it sounds like -- a tag on your franchise player, the one guy you can’t afford to lose, to keep him in your city.

The $2.9 million guaranteed is likely around the same price the Jaguars would pay Scobee for the season under a new long term contract.

For all news and information regarding the Jacksonville Jaguars and their offseason moves, please visit Big Cat Country.

The period during which NFL teams are allowed to use the franchise tag is winding down. Teams were able to start applying the tag on Feb. 20, and several teams have done so already. The deadline to apply the tag comes at 4 p.m. Monday.

There could be a record number of franchise tags, because the formula used to determine the franchise tag number has changed, resulting in lower numbers for the franchise tag.

Players designated as a team’s franchisee make the average of the five highest salaries at their position for one year, a number that won’t be determined until the end of free agency though, at the moment, it appears to be between $16 million and $17 million for a quarterback, according to the NFL.

For all news and information regarding the New Orleans Saints, please visit Canal Street Chronicles. For complete coverage of football free agency, stay tuned to SB Nation’s dedicated NFL hub.

The official Chicago Bears Twitter feed announced on Friday night that the team would be applying the franchise tag on Forte. This will keep the running back under control through 2012 and will give Chicago until the following free agency period to attempt to come to terms with him on an extension.

For all news and information regarding the Chicago Bears, please visit Windy City Gridiron or SB Nation Chicago. For complete coverage of free agents and the NFL offseason, stay tuned to SB Nation’s dedicated NFL free agency hub.

Nugent had a terrific season for the Bengals, hitting on 33-of-38 field goal attempts. That was by far the best year in his career. He’s an 80 percent career kicker. When your strengths are playing well on defense and controlling the clock, you can’t underestimate the need for a good kicker (well, maybe you can).

Nugent was originally a second round pick in the 2005 NFL Draft.

Dawson has been in the league for 13 years. He converted 24 of 29 field goal attempts last season.

For more on the Browns, visit SB Nation’s Browns blog, Dawgs By Nature. And for more on Cleveland sports, check out SB Nation Cleveland.

General manager Rod Gaves told Darren Urban of the Cardinals official website that the goal is still to reach a long-term deal:

The next step is for Campbell to sign the tender offer. If he chooses to do so, his 2012 salary will become fully guaranteed as is expected to be worth approximately $10.6 million. He and the team still have until July 16 to reach a long-term deal. Campbell is coming off a career-high eight sacks and 10 passes defended in 2011.

The Ravens could remove Rice’s franchise tag if they can get a new contract in place by July 15. Whether it comes before, during, or after the season, expect a deal to get done at some point. Rice has stated several times that he would like to remain a Raven.

For more analysis of Rice’s situation, be sure to check out Ravens blog Baltimore Beatdown.

It was reported weeks ago that Davis was likely to be tagged so this isn’t a big surprise. It’s a very affordable year to franchise tag a tight end at about $5 million. The final franchise tag numbers aren’t yet out but the league is expected to have them ready soon.

Davis’ 2011 season was cut short due to a suspension for a failed drug test. That’s definitely a concern but on the field he was solid catching 59 balls for 796 yards. The Redskins didn’t have many receiving options last season so it’s a no-brainer to keep one of the guys that still has potential. Davis is young and will get better. The real question in Washington is who will be throwing him the ball.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the Niners plan on giving the franchise tag to Goldson on Friday. Goldson was set to become a free agent beginning on March 13, but now the 49ers will have at least through 2012 to attempt to work out a long-term contract extension with the player.

Goldson has been with San Francisco since being drafted by the team in 2007. Goldson was working on a one-year contract with the team in 2011, during which he was one of the top safeties in the NFC and made his first trip to the Pro Bowl.

The franchise tag number for cornerbacks is expected to be around $10.5 million. Other teams could pry him away but the cost of signing another team’s franchise tagged player is two first round picks and no one is going to do that.

Grimes, 28, has a good story. He entered the league as an undrafted free agent and even spent some time in NFL Europe before catching on with the Falcons in 2007, mostly as a practice squad guy. Just four years later, he was a full-time starter and in the Pro Bowl.

The franchise tag number for safeties is expected to be just over $6 million for the 2012 season. Another team could attempt to sign Branch but the price would be two first round picks (and a contract) so that’s not going to happen.

For more on the Raiders, visit SB Nation’s Silver and Black Pride. And for more on Bay Area sports, visit SB Nation Bay Area.

This helps the Eagles keep Jackson in Philly on a one-year contract that will pay him approximately $9.5 million. Another team can make a run at Jackson, but they would have to give up two first round picks, which isn’t going to happen.

In comments distributed by the team, GM Howie Roseman was quoted as saying: