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The #Saints have officially filed the paperwork on Marcus Williams’ franchise tag… which means more cap gymnastics. But Mickey Loomis makes it work. https://t.co/HfLqeIb0cP
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 9, 2021
Well, that was unexpected. ESPN reported Tuesday that the New Orleans Saints were not anticipated to use the franchise tag this year, but they did just that ahead of the NFL’s 3 p.m. CT deadline. Multiple media outlets reported news of the move, with NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport first on the spot.
There are a couple of reasons for the Saints to do this — namely, keeping one of their best defenders in the fold for another season, if not longer. They have until mid-summer to reach a deal on a long-term contract extension with Williams, so this buys this some time if the sides were already close to an agreement, but not close enough to put pens to paper before free agency opens up next week.
Williams was expected to see plenty of interest on the open market — almost every team in the league could use a ballhawk with rare sideline-to-sideline range, and with other top-flight safeties like Justin Simmons and Marcus Maye receiving the tag, he was well-positioned to earn top dollar. But now he’ll remain in New Orleans for at least another year. Maybe the Saints can work out an extension to reduce the tag’s cap hit, which is expected to cost about $10.5 million.
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