The 49ers’ window to use a franchise tag on defensive lineman Arik Armstead was extended Tuesday. They now have until March 16 at 8:59:59 AM PST to place a tag on the soon-to-be free agent.
The negotiating window for free agents will open one second later at 9:00 am PST, while free agency still officially opens at 1:00 pm PST on March 18.
This is significant for San Francisco since it gives them an additional four days to work out a long-term deal with Armstead. The original deadline was March 12 at 1:00 PM. If the 49ers can’t work out a multi-year contract, they can place a franchise tag on Armstead that would pay him around $19 million fully guaranteed for one season.
Tagging him wouldn’t guarantee he’s on the roster again though. He could hold out and opt to not sign the tag, although that outcome is the least likely. The team could also tag and then trade him. One benefit of using the tag is that it extends the negotiating window for a long-term deal even further. The deadline to offer long-term extensions to a player on the tag is July 15.
Tuesday marked the second time the league pushed the franchise/transition tag deadline back this offseason. It was originally scheduled for March 10. Ongoing CBA negotiations have been the catalyst for the moves. A quirk of the previous agreement allowed for teams to use both the franchise and transition tags in the final year of a CBA, which is where the league is heading in 2020 if no new agreement is reached.
The latest move back is to put the tag deadline outside of the players’ voting window. Previously, a team that used both the franchise and transition tags would’ve had to rescind one upon approval of a new CBA. Now, the CBA will either be approved or not before the tag deadline, so teams will know whether they can use just one or both tags.
For the 49ers, they won’t use both tags, but the new date allows them a few more negotiating days to try and retain their sack leader from last season.
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