Tag: NFL Franchise Tag deadline

Jets S Marcus Maye among 6 franchise-tagged players who didn’t sign extensions

After not agreeing on a contract extension with the Jets, Marcus Maye is one of six who will play on the franchise tag in 2021.

Marcus Maye and the Jets could not agree on a contract extension before the July 15 franchise tag deadline.

As a result, Maye will play on a one-year, $10.612 million franchise tag tender in 2021. The Jets now have to wait until next offseason to negotiate with Maye and his representatives again. New York can place the franchise tag on Maye for a second consecutive year but at a steeper price. The other options the Jets have are to trade him, come to terms on a new contract in free agency, or let him walk in free agency.

Five other franchise-tagged players were unable to agree on long-term deals before Thursday’s 4 p.m. deadline. Here’s a look at the rest of the players joining Maye, as well as what they’ll make on the tag.

Which potential Jets targets were franchise tagged? Which were not?

Jets Wire takes a look at potential Jets free agents targets who were/weren’t franchise tagged during Tuesday’s deadline.

The franchise tag deadline came and went on Tuesday with nine players receiving the tag ahead of the new league year.

The Jets placed the tag on Marcus Maye, while ex-Jet Leonard Williams received it from the Giants. Maye, Williams and all the other tagged players now have until July 15 to work out a long-term deal with their respective teams.

While could-have-been Jets targets like Allen Robinson and Chris Godwin received the tag on Tuesday, New York will still have plenty of talent to court when free agency begins on March 17. Let’s take a look at potential Jets targets who were and weren’t franchise tagged on Tuesday.

Ravens miss contract deadline with OLB Matthew Judon’s franchise tag

The Baltimore Ravens are locked into a $16.808 million pricetag on OLB Matthew Judon for 2020 after not getting a deal done in time.

The Baltimore Ravens and outside linebacker Matthew Judon are locked into a franchise tag amount of $16.808 million for the 2020 season, after failing to agree to a long-term contract extension in time.

The Ravens initially applied the franchise tag to Judon back in March, compromising on a salary that will pay him between a linebacker and defensive end. Judon signed his tender in May but Baltimore had until today at 4:00 p.m. ET to get him locked up to a long-term contract in order to alter his 2020 salary cap cost. After failing to get a deal done in time, Judon and the Ravens have locked in his 2020 cap hit.

Now, that’s not to say a contract extension still couldn’t happen before next offseason when Judon will become an unrestricted free agent again. We’ve seen the Ravens hand out contract extensions early, especially under new general manager Eric DeCosta, who has made it a priority to create a maintainable salary cap since taking over for Ozzie Newsome last offseason. However, any deal won’t impact his salary for 2020 or free up cap space for Baltimore to use this season. Then again, with the top free agents already signed this offseason, the Ravens haven’t been under any immense pressure to get Judon signed.

Still, Baltimore has been able to turn the franchise tag into contract extensions nearly every time they’ve used it previously, giving plenty of hope to Judon eventually getting a long-term deal done too. The Ravens have used the franchise tag eight times (six different players) prior to Judon, coming to terms on a long-term extension with all but Wally Williams following his franchise tag in 1998.

There are plenty of good reasons for Baltimore and Judon not being able to get a contract ironed out yet, even if one eventually happens.

It’s been a tumultuous offseason given the coronavirus pandemic. It’s had huge ramifications on free agency, the 2020 NFL Draft, and now in the preparation for the regular season. It seems plausible that both the Ravens’ front office and Judon’s agent have been stretched thinner than they normally would have been, making negotiations take longer than usual.

Of course, the lack of qualifying deals this offseason likely also further complicated negotiations and meant it has been harder to accurately set Judon’s value. It was expected Judon’s deal would mirror that of top free agent Jadeveon Clowney. But Clowney is currently unsigned with just a few weeks before training camps kick off around the league. Many of the other top pass rushers also received the franchise tag instead of contract extensions, again failing to create an accurate bar for a potential deal for Judon.

There’s also some concern about how the coronavirus pandemic will impact the salary cap next season. As teams have already announced significantly reduced capacity for home games this season, there will be less revenue this season and subsequently less growth in the 2021 salary cap. Teams are likely hesitant to hand out massive contracts in light of that uncertainty while agents don’t want to leave money on the table simply to get a deal done right now.

It would have been nice for the Ravens to free up some cap space this offseason or to at least know where they stand with one of their top players. But Baltimore has plenty of time to get Judon under contract, even if it didn’t happen by the deadline.

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Ravens OLB Matthew Judon joking as franchise tag deadline nears

With only a few hours before his $16.8 million cap hit is locked in for 2020, Baltimore Ravens OLB Matthew Judon is joking about his status

The Baltimore Ravens and outside linebacker Matthew Judon have until 4:00 p.m. ET today to work out a contract extension or the $16.808 million cap hit will be locked in for the 2020 season. While neither the Ravens nor Judon necessarily need a deal done right now, the deadline presents some pressure to get something worked out in order to retain one of the best players on the roster and potentially free up some salary-cap space.

Well known for his more casual attitude during interviews and frequent jokes, Judon has taken to Twitter with the deadline quickly approaching and fans on edge. Judon first raised eyebrows after asking Chiefs defensive back Tyrann Mathieu about the real estate prices in Kansas City.

This came right after it was reported the Chiefs had given defensive tackle Chris Jones an $85 million extension on top of the $500 million deal for quarterback Patrick Mahomes last week. While Judon reiterated he was asking “for a friend,” the joke didn’t exactly thrill Ravens fans on Twitter.

Judon wasn’t done yet, hinting about an “important call” the day and time of the deadline.

While Judon’s tweet could just as easily be another joke or him hoping something gets done before the deadline, it’s going to make the next few hours a little more interesting at least.

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NFL franchise tag deadline pushed back again, giving Ravens more time to negotiate with Matthew Judon

The deadline for the franchise tag has been pushed back again to before free agency, giving the Ravens more time to sign Matthew Judon

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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NFL changes franchise tag dates for 2020 season

The Baltimore Ravens will have to wait two more days before they can use the franchise tag on OLB Matthew Judon this offseason.

The NFL and NFLPA are currently in negotiations to figure out a new collective bargaining agreement. With talks ongoing, the groups have agreed to alter the dates teams can apply the franchise and transition tags. With the Baltimore Ravens having outside linebacker Matthew Judon as a potential franchise tag recipient, the change in date matters a great deal.

Baltimore will now be able to apply the franchise tag on Judon as early as February 27 with the final deadline being March 12, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. It gives the Ravens two more days over the standard dates to hopefully work out a long-term deal with Judon before they’ll have the franchise tag available to use.

In the final year of the current CBA, teams can use both the franchise tag and transition tag if they wish. Normally, only one or the other would be available. However, the transition tag doesn’t make much sense for Baltimore to use. The franchise tag would either give the Ravens exclusive rights over Judon or would net them two first-round picks if another team were to sign him. The transition tag comes at a slightly reduced cost but would only give Baltimore the right of first refusal to match a deal from another team, something they likely can’t afford to do given their salary-cap situation.

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