Tag: franchise tag deadline

NFL franchise tag deadline for Raiders RB Josh Jacobs coming up quick

One former NFL agent thinks Josh Jacobs could hold out Raiders training camp

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Quicker than Josh Jacobs can cut back and make a man miss, the deadline for him to sign his franchise tag will be here. That deadline is July 17. What it means is that’s the deadline for Jacobs to be signed to a long-term deal prior to this season. If no deal is reached by then, he’ll need to play out the year on the tag – or sit out the season.

Former NFL agent-turned-analyst for CBS Sports, Joel Corry, sees a real possibility that Jacobs could not sign the tag and be a training camp holdout.

It wouldn’t be a surprise for Jacobs to miss the start of Raiders training camp on July 25 if he doesn’t get a long-term deal by the deadline. Jacobs has yet to sign his franchise tender. Some unsigned franchise players have missed part or most of training camp and the preseason partially to protest not getting a long-term deal and to try to minimize the risk of a serious injury.

Under normal circumstances, a player would be fined $50,000 for every day of camp he misses. But should Jacobs not sign his franchise tender, he wouldn’t be under contract and thus would not be fined.

Then, Jacobs could sign his franchise tender just prior to the start of the season and wait until next offseason to get his long-term deal.

Worst-case scenario, he forces his way out of Las Vegas.

Obviously, the ideal situation would be for Jacobs to be signed long-term. There are 11 days left for him and the Raiders to try and work out such a deal, should both sides agree to the terms.

What those terms might be could be dependent upon whether the other two tagged running backs — Saquon Barkley and Tony Pollard — receive long-term deals.

2023 NFL calendar begins this week, more dates to know

What days should fans be aware of?

NFL coaches, general managers, agents, media members, and of course fans, will be congregating in Indianapolis this week for the league’s annual scouting combine. In what is a job interview for players and an evaluation period for front offices, you can say that this week truly kicks off the new league year in 2023.

While the early part of the week and process is more of interviewing, orientations, and medical exams, that process is underway players rolling in.

With team interviews happening since Monday and through Wednesday, the on-field aspect of the combine begins Thursday, March 2 when the measurements and workouts are led off by defensive linemen and linebackers.

On Friday, March 3 the defensive backs and placekickers/special teamers take the field.

Saturday, March 4 is time for quarterbacks and their targets in wide receivers and tight ends.

Sunday, March 5 the offensive line and running backs take it home with their workouts and the process concludes on Monday, March, 6.

The league does a remarkable job of keeping the interest in this game year-round. As the big-wigs of the teams board their flights and head back to their war rooms, some will have a day to designate potential Franchise or Transition Players.

Also commencing on March 7 will be college pro days. Teams are permitted to hold workouts of a school’s eligible players but players outside of the scheduled Pro Day activities are prohibited. This process can include private dinners, meetings, and interviews.

Additionally from the 7 through April 19, draft-eligible player facility visits begin where teams are permitted 30 non-local players for physical exams and visits however no on-field workouts can occur.

It is through of course the April 26 eve of the NFL’s Annual Selection Meeting, better known as the Draft. Prior to the selection long weekend, back to March.

March 8 and 9 will be the deadline for clubs to conduct physical examinations for players claiming the Extended Injury Protection Benefit for the 2023 season.

Heading into a more action-packed time, especially in South Florida as last off-season proved, Dolphins general manager Chris Grier has several key decisions to make.

From March 13 beginning at 12 p.m. ET through March 15 ending at 3:59:59 p.m. ET, clubs are permitted to contact and enter into contract negotiations with, the certified agents of players who will become unrestricted free agents upon the expiration of their 2022 player contracts at 4:00 p.m ET on the 15th.

No prospective Unrestricted Free Agent is permitted to execute a contract with a new club until 4:00 p.m. ET, on March 15. Also at this time, teams must submit qualifying offers to their restricted free agents with expiring contracts to retain a right of first refusal/compensation.

When the clock hits 4:00 p.m. ET, the 2023 league year and free agency period begins, as well as the trading period opening.

Following the flurry of activity, the NFL league meetings will be held in Phoenix on March 26-29, and a month later, the draft will start the clock in Las Vegas, Nevada.

And something Miami Dolphins fans will certainly be monitoring will be the May 1 deadline for designating a fifth-year option to players from the first round of the 2020 Draft.

Specifically, that’s offensive tackle Austin Jackson, cornerback Noah Igbinoghene and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

And, just like that, the 2023 season is almost here.

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CBS Sports lists Jaguars among the losers at the franchise tag deadline

Several Jags targets were tagged by their teams, and Jacksonville made a somewhat controversial tag decision.

Tuesday was not a good day if you’re a Jacksonville Jaguars fan. The organization may lead the NFL in available cap space, but it can’t control the personnel decisions made by other teams. And at the franchise tag deadline, a number of high-profile Jags free agent targets were tagged by their teams, meaning they won’t hit the open market.

Among these players are Chicago Bears receiver Allen Robinson and Giants defensive tackle Leonard Williams. Further, Jacksonville chose to exercise its franchise tag on left tackle Cam Robinson, who some fans were hoping to move on from. While he’s still young, his development has slowed over the last couple of seasons, and fans were higher on veteran Trent Williams with Trevor Lawrence likely coming to town.

It seems that ship has sailed now. For better or worse, Robinson is returning to Jacksonville and the team won’t be changing its offensive line significantly this offseason.

Given all this, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the Jags were among CBS Sports’ tag deadline losers.

We get the idea of securing an incumbent left tackle ahead of presumptive No. 1 pick Trevor Lawrence’s arrival, but guaranteeing $14.5 million to Cam Robinson on the tag after the vet graded among the worst pass protectors of 2020 in a contract year? Don’t love it. Why not use the cash to spend big for, say, Trent Williams or another free agent?

It’s easy to understand where the Jaguars are coming from. There was no guarantee they would land an upgrade, and now they’ve secured a player who is at least capable of starting. But Jacksonville has to spend its money somewhere, and with fewer options now on the table, it’s a bit surprising that it chose to retain a player who is still developing in pass protection.

CBS Sports lists Jaguars among the losers at the franchise tag deadline

Several Jags targets were tagged by their teams, and Jacksonville made a somewhat controversial tag decision.

Tuesday was not a good day if you’re a Jacksonville Jaguars fan. The organization may lead the NFL in available cap space, but it can’t control the personnel decisions made by other teams. And at the franchise tag deadline, a number of high-profile Jags free agent targets were tagged by their teams, meaning they won’t hit the open market.

Among these players are Chicago Bears receiver Allen Robinson and Giants defensive tackle Leonard Williams. Further, Jacksonville chose to exercise its franchise tag on left tackle Cam Robinson, who some fans were hoping to move on from. While he’s still young, his development has slowed over the last couple of seasons, and fans were higher on veteran Trent Williams with Trevor Lawrence likely coming to town.

It seems that ship has sailed now. For better or worse, Robinson is returning to Jacksonville and the team won’t be changing its offensive line significantly this offseason.

Given all this, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the Jags were among CBS Sports’ tag deadline losers.

We get the idea of securing an incumbent left tackle ahead of presumptive No. 1 pick Trevor Lawrence’s arrival, but guaranteeing $14.5 million to Cam Robinson on the tag after the vet graded among the worst pass protectors of 2020 in a contract year? Don’t love it. Why not use the cash to spend big for, say, Trent Williams or another free agent?

It’s easy to understand where the Jaguars are coming from. There was no guarantee they would land an upgrade, and now they’ve secured a player who is at least capable of starting. But Jacksonville has to spend its money somewhere, and with fewer options now on the table, it’s a bit surprising that it chose to retain a player who is still developing in pass protection.

Report: Deadline may move for Cowboys, Prescott in franchise tag dance

Tuesday’s highly-anticipated deadline may get pushed due to uncertainty over league financials, according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport.

That March 9 deadline that all of Cowboys Nation has been breathlessly waiting on? The one that says the Cowboys and quarterback Dak Prescott must have a deal in place by… or else use the franchise tag for the second year in a row? The one that, if it passes, is a clear signal to some- and at the very least a frightening step toward the ever-more-likely possibility- that the team won’t have Prescott’s services after the 2021 season?

That hard and fast deadline of Tuesday afternoon? Yeah, turns out it might not be the deadline after all.

NFL Network insider Ian Rapaport is reporting that the franchise tag deadline could now be pushed due to uncertainty about the league’s official salary cap number. He adds that several general managers around the league are already “bracing” for that possibility.

Jerry Jones would certainly be one of them.

The cap won’t be any lower than $180 million; that much is known. But how close the actual cap is to that number is still in flux. That difference matters greatly to teams in determining their financial flexibility down to the penny this coming season.

“If the official salary cap number doesn’t come today [Monday] and soon,” Rapoport tweeted, “NFL will have to move back the deadline.”

 

A retooled deadline for franchise tagging players would not change the start of the league year, which begins March 17. It would still have to happen before that date.

Prescott and the Cowboys front office would still have to choose one of the following courses of action: hammer out an agreement by the new deadline, use the franchise tag to lock in a 2021 salary for Prescott of $37.7 million (and perhaps buy themselves a little more time to negotiate), or- the completely unthinkable nuclear option- do neither and simply let him leave right now as a free agent.

Pushing Tuesday’s deadline wouldn’t change that menu of three options; it would only prolong having to decide which it will be.

“The deadline was also delayed last year,” as noted by Pro Football Talk’s Michael David Smith, “as teams were given an extra four days to decide after the NFL Players Association pushed back its deadline for players to vote on the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.”

Some are pointing to Jerry and Stephen Jones’s long-standing mantra that “Deadlines make deals.” Both the Joneses and Prescott have said publicly that they want No. 4 to remain the team’s quarterback. That’s cause for optimism, despite this dance having already gone on for two calendar years.

Some, though, including ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky, think the die has been cast… and he’s predicting massive aftershocks around the NFL.

“I do believe they’re going to tag him,” the former quarterback said on the network’s Get Up. “When they tag him, two things. They’re going to stink this year, because their salary cap- like everyone has pointed out- is going to be so chewed up by that [$37.7 million] number. And two, this will be Dak’s last year in Dallas. He will no longer be the Cowboys’ quarterback moving forward after this season. And then the last thing that would stand out to me is that next offseason would be pandemonium. We’ve seen teams in the NFL kind of tank, or front offices tank, to acquire draft picks. I think we would see teams and front offices try and tank, so to speak, to create cap space, almost like sometimes we see in the NBA- just unload contracts- for the bidding war of Dak Prescott next year.”

Just to be clear, the Cowboys would not be in any way the beneficiary of that particular leaguewide pandemonium. It would be teams lining up to court Prescott, and the Cowboys playing the role of the chumps who let him walk.

For now, though, the eyes of everyone around the league remain locked squarely on The Star, just the way the Joneses like it. And if Rapoport is right, they’re about to get a few extra days of it.

Cowboys fans can only hope they use it wisely.

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Cowboys don’t have cap space to tag Prescott again in 2021

There are several factors at play why the Dallas Cowboys and Dak Prescott are failing to reach a long-term agreement before Wednesday’s deadline. At the crux of things, the two sides have not agreed on length and guaranteed compensation for the …

There are several factors at play why the Dallas Cowboys and Dak Prescott are failing to reach a long-term agreement before Wednesday’s deadline. At the crux of things, the two sides have not agreed on length and guaranteed compensation for the fifth-year quarterback.

Prescott wanted a shorter, four-year deal so that he could hit the open market again soon after the NFL’s new TV deals kicked in. That would help him make up for being woefully underpaid at just over $1 million per year thus far. The Cowboys wanted a longer deal to help protect them from the rising costs of the QB market. Their final offer, a five-year contract at an average of $35 million doesn’t make much sense for Prescott to sign considering the franchise tag game would pay him $34.5 million on average over the next two seasons.

Because Prescott was given the exclusive tag in 2020, his base salary will be $31.4 million. Due to the CBA rule that a player tagged for a second time will make 120% of that salary, he stands to make $37.69 million in 2021. The total amount, $69.1 million  is a lot of money. So much money, that the Cowboys don’t currently have the room to afford it.

Projecting the 2021 cap

The 2020 salary cap is set to $198.2 million. Normally, the cap goes up every year by about 6%, but there was an even bigger increase expected for 2021 thanks to adding a 17th game and the legalization of gambling. Even before the new TV deals kicked in (Monday Night Football in 2021, Sunday and Thursday packages in 2022), Over The Cap was projecting a $215 million cap in 2021.

With that number, the Cowboys — who have 55 players other than Prescott under contract in 2021 — only have $36.1 million of space for next year according to OTC.

They don’t currently have enough space to tag Prescott again; as soon as a player is tagged, that money is earkmarked on the cap.

Now, the team currently has just over $11 million in 2020 remaining cap space, some of that will carry over. The Cowboys will spend around $7.4 million on their rookies, but they will only need around $3.1 million of space as the rookies replace current players in the cap calculation. The club will also inevitably spend around $2 million – $4 million on in-season signings when others get injured. Penciling in a carryover of around $5 million seems a safe bet.

That would move Dallas to around $41 million in space, which would be enough to tag Prescott again, but not sign any free agents or rookies without cutting salary from somewhere else.

Possible, but not feasible and it would severely limit the club’s ability to retain their own players.

The 2021 free agent class is nothing like what 2020’s was (Prescott, Amari Cooper, Robert Quinn, Byron Jones, Maliek Collins and more). There are a few interesting names, though, such as safeties Xavier Woods and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, linebacker Sean Lee, defensive tackles Antwaun Woods and Tyrone Crawford and cornerbacks Chidobe Awuzie and Jourdan Lewis.

The club would be crippled in trying to bring back any combination of those players without shaving money elsewhere.

Then there’s the elephant in the room.

2021 Salary Cap will likely be flattened, or lowered

The 2021 salary cap is not likely to be anywhere near $215 million.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic and teams already setting plans to operate with woefully empty, if not completely vacant, stadiums, there’s a real chance the salary cap doesn’t rise at all from the current $198.2 million.

There are even credible suggestions the cap could fall. The Cowboys already have $179 million in projected salaries for 2021. They would not be able to tag Prescott without lopping off some salaries to tag Prescott again.

And therein lies the problem with not reaching a long-term deal before Wednesday’s deadline.

The Cowboys can afford Prescott now, but can they next year?

And if they don’t work out a long-term agreement before the tag deadline closes (a few days after the cap is known and a few days before free agency begins), then there’s a possiblity Prescott will be set to walk in 2021.

Now, the Cowboys clearly have options in the worst-case scenario. There are players who can be released (Dontari Poe), but more players who could be restructured (Amari Cooper, DeMarcus Lawrence, Zack Martin) who would make some sense to create room.

But teams with their QB situation already worked out are going to have to consider such moves as gutting the mid-tier players on their payroll.

Dallas is going to be in a big predicament.

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