The NFL’s franchise tag window opens Wednesday and closes on March 1. We’re expecting a handful of players to get the tag, but these four players are probably the most essential for teams AND the players with bigger questions surrounding their future.
4 essential questions for players likely to get the NFL franchise tag in 2017
Players like Le’Veon Bell and Eric Berry are indispensable to their teams, but will those front offices handle offseason negotiations correctly?
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Can Washington and Kirk Cousins just agree on a long-term deal? He’s expected to get the franchise tag for the second year in a row, almost $24 million fully guaranteed. That would be more than $40 million in two years, so surely they’ll tag him and then get a deal done. His faults aside, he’s too good for Washington to let get away.
How much is Le’Veon Bell worth? If the Steelers tag him, he’ll make more than $12 million this season, making him the highest paid running back in the NFL (assuming Minnesota jettisons Adrian Peterson). Bell is a special player, but he’s also one failed drug test away from a 10-game suspension. A long-term deal would be the way to go here, too.
What are the Chiefs and Eric Berry doing? Berry got tagged last year, but the Chiefs never got a long-term deal done with him. (Maybe because they wanted him to pay millions for his own disability insurance). The Chiefs defense needs Berry.
Will the Browns pay Terrelle Pryor No. 1 receiver money? It’s easy to forget that Pryor was a quarterback once upon a time, but he turned into a bona fide No. 1 receiver last year, putting up 1,007 receiving yards with five different mediocre, or worse, quarterbacks throwing him the ball. But it’s only one year of productivity. Is it worth a $15 million bet that he can do that consistently? I’d say it is, but we’ll see if the Browns agree.
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