Today, July 15th, is the deadline for NFL teams to reach an agreement on a long-term extension with players that the organizations placed franchise tags upon. If the parties fail to agree to new contracts by 4 p.m. ET, the players will play the 2020 NFL season on the one-year franchise tag.
As of this morning, there are 13 players facing this situation, including two (A.J. Green and Yannick Ngakoue) who have not even signed the franchise tag offer. Here is a look at all 13 situations with a prediction as to what happens by the deadline.
The players are listed in alphabetical order.
Shaquil Barrett, EDGE, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Franchise Tag Salary: $15.828 million
Status: Last season was a true breakout campaign for the EDGE defender. An undrafted free agent out of Colorado State in the 2014 draft class, Barrett signed with the hometown Denver Broncos as a free agent. Over four seasons in Denver, he mustered a total of 15 sacks.
Then he found a new home in Tampa Bay, and last year was his true breakout season. He put a whopping 20 sacks on the board, along with 82 quarterback pressures, 18 quarterback hits and 44 QB hurries. He also added his first career interception, when he picked off Jared Goff back in Week 4.
Both sides want to reach a long-term deal, and from Barrett’s position you can understand why. The Buccaneers are the “hot team” in the NFL right now, with Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski now in town. Furthermore, Barrett was part of a big defensive turnaround in Tampa Bay. What could complicate matters is the cap space issue. As of this moment the Buccaneers have just $4,873,799 available under the cap, although that factors in the franchise tag amount for Barrett. Surely Jason Licht can find a way to make the numbers work.
Prediction: Extension reached.