As the NFL owners and NFLPA continue negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement, the league has been fiddling with their offseason dates. After initially pushing back the start and deadline for the franchise and transition tags, the NFL has once again altered the deadline to a second before noon on March 16, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, giving teams an extra four days. The beginning of the NFL’s legal tampering period — effectively known as the real start of free agency — begins a second later at noon.
The Baltimore Ravens are expected to franchise tag outside linebacker Matthew Judon if they can’t come to a deal on a long-term contract. While the extra time could mean a final push to get a deal signed before having to use the franchise tag — something general manager Eric DeCosta said he’d like to do — if the Ravens and Judon have gone this far, it seems unlikely to suddenly change.
Unlike in previous years, teams are able to use both the transition and franchise tags in the final year of the CBA. However, that isn’t likely for Baltimore this offseason as the transition tag also carries a huge cost but without the security of the non-exclusive franchise tag’s two first-round picks in return for losing a player. Since defensive tackle Michael Pierce is the Ravens’ next biggest pending free agent, the cost of the transition tag on him wouldn’t make much sense.
Though the exact figures aren’t known yet, it’s expected the franchise tag for Judon will cost Baltimore approximately $16.27 million, according to Over The Cap. It will lock Judon up through the 2020 season, barring him refusing to sign the tender and holding out.
The Ravens could decide to tag and then trade Judon if they feel they won’t be able to sign him to a long-term contract. With most of the top pending free agent pass rushers expected to be franchise tagged this offseason, Judon could garner quite a lot of attention and tons of value for Baltimore if they put him on the trading block. However, it would put the Ravens in quite the predicament in not only replacing Judon’s production but improving a pass rush that struggled mightily to win one-on-one matchups last season.
It looks like we’ll have to wait a few more days to figure out exactly what Baltimore is going to do with Judon and the franchise tag.
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