NFL teams had until 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday to use the franchise or transition tags on potential unrestricted free agents.
There were eight players given the franchise tag, as well as one player who was given the rare transition-tag designation.
Here is the complete list.
Now that we know who is tagged and who is not, let’s talk about some winners and losers.
Winners
RB Saquon Barkley (formerly New York Giants): The big win here for Barkley is two-fold. For one, he gets to finally test his value on the open market while he is still somewhat in the prime of his career. He also gets to escape the perpetual mediocrity that is the New York Giants. Yes, he has said he wants to be a Giant for life. But he would also probably like to win and, potentially, get a bigger payday.
Kansas City Chiefs: By placing the franchise tag on cornerback L’Jarius Sneed they get two big options. They either have a key part of their Super Bowl defense back for 2024, or they have a valuable trade piece. Sneed intercepted two passes in 2023 and made several huge plays in the playoffs, including a game-changing forced fumble at the goal line in the AFC Championship game.
OL Mike Onwenu (formerly New England Patriots): The Patriots had to decide between placing a tag on either Onwenu or defensive back Kyle Dugger. They chose to transition tag Dugger and let Onwenu go untagged. By not getting tagged Onwenu has a chance to hit the open market where he will be one of the top offensive linemen available. He could still re-sign with the Patriots, but they’ll be forced to vie with the rest of the league for Onwenu’s services.
EDGE Josh Allen, Jacksonville Jaguars: Even though Allen was tagged, the Jaguars tagged him as a linebacker, not a defensive end, meaning his tag number will be $24 million this season instead of $21 million. That alone is a small win for him.
Losers
EDGE Brian Burns, Carolina Panthers: Honestly, the Panthers and Burns both probably lose here. Burns loses because he does not get to hit the open market and is still seemingly stuck on a team that is going nowhere. The Panthers lose because they have passed on major trade offers in the past and just seem to be stuck in neutral.
WR Tee Higgins, Cincinnati Bengals: The Bengals keep a favorite target of quarterback Joe Burrow by placing the tag on Higgins, and that is good news for the Bengals. It is bad news for Higgins because he misses out on the chance to cash in via free agency. Higgins would have been one of the top players available.
New England Patriots: The Patriots were the rare team to use the transition tag, opting to use that on defensive back Kyle Dugger. This seems like a miss. It is not that Dugger is a bad player, but he does not play a premium position (safety) and it could end up costing them a significantly more important player (Onwenu) at a more premium position where they have a much bigger need (offensive line).
Running backs: There was not a single running back to get the franchise tag this offseason after multiple running backs were tagged a year ago, including Barkley. While this is good news for Barkley individually, it is tough news for players like Raiders running back Josh Jacobs who are simply not going to make anywhere near as much money on the open market as they could have this season on a franchise tag.
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