The NFL season ends, but never really does. As the offseason rolls on, important dates will start popping up.
Unfortunately one of the first is very unlikely to involve the Buffalo Bills.
On Tuesday, the league’s franchise tag window opens. It runs until March 8.
However, the Bills are not in a position to take part in those festivities.
The franchise tag can be place on a player by a team. It locks them into an expensive one-year deal.
The idea is that is gives the two sides more time to work out a long-term contract, although, in recent years players have started to admit they dislike the tag.
The cost of each designation varies depending on position. It’s determined by finding the average of the top-five contracts of whatever position they play.
For example, the cornerback franchise tag costs $17.5 million. The wide receiver one is $18.5M (figures via Spotrac).
That’s the back breaker for Buffalo. Currently the Bills are slightly over the 2022 salary cap.
In order to use the tag, the Bills would have to clear up some massive salary cap space.
Additionally, Buffalo doesn’t really have any pending free agents really worth that type of dollar.
Since we’ve mentioned wideout and cornerback, in those positions, Isaiah McKenzie and Levi Wallace are the top upcoming free agents. Neither would be worth such a hefty price tag.
Defensively, the top pending free agents would be defensive tackle Harrison Phillips and defensive end Jerry Hughes or Mario Addison. Those cost of the tag on those positions, respectively, is at $17M and $17.5M.
Keeping a couple of those players could be smart moves by the Bills but not at that price.
Along with the franchise tag, there are others such as the transition tag. They’re similar, but a transition one does allow a player to talk to other teams. The franchise tag is still the most often used one.
And now the least exciting piece of information we saved for last: The Bills almost never use the franchise tag.
In the team’s history, they have only five times, most recently with offensive tackle Cordy Glenn in 2016.
That also means during the tenures of Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott, it has yet to be used.
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