Tag: NFL franchise tag

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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Decision on Matthew Judon looms large over Ravens this offseason

The Baltimore Ravens will need to decide whether to use the franchise tag on OLB Matthew Judon or let him go to free agency.

The Baltimore Ravens’ biggest and toughest decision this offseason revolves around outside linebacker Matthew Judon, who is set to hit free agency. Baltimore can’t afford to let another star pass rusher leave for a second consecutive season. But re-signing Judon would undoubtedly be costly, especially if he hits the open market, which will likely drive up his value.

One solution is the franchise tag, which becomes available for teams to use on Feb. 25 and has a deadline of March 10. Those two dates loom large over Baltimore’s free agency period and are among the most important days the Ravens will see this offseason. Should Baltimore use the tag on Judon?

Let’s look at why the Ravens would even contemplate using the franchise tag in the first place.

The franchise tag for linebackers is expected to be $16.3 million, according to Over The Cap. That would be a relative bargain over what Judon could actually get in free agency. While we’ve predicted $17 million per season, the reality is top pass rushers frequently exceed all expectations once teams with a ton of salary cap space get into bidding wars. Last offseason, both Za’Darius Smith and C.J. Mosley earned deals far greater than what anyone had predicted.

The franchise tag isn’t a perfect solution either. Once applied, the entire franchise tag figure comes out of Baltimore’s current salary cap total. In the case of Judon this offseason, the expected $16.3 million tag would more than cut the Ravens’ available cap space in half. They’d go from an estimated $30.74 million, according to Over The Cap, to just $14.98 million.

Also, using the franchise tag on Judon would severely limit what Baltimore could do in free agency. Granted, they could either trade Judon or re-sign him to a long-term deal to free up some of that used cap space, but they’d be gambling they could get something done in time to not miss out on pending free agents they’re interested in. There’s always the notion of Judon holding out and refusing to play on the franchise tag while keeping his contract demands above what Baltimore is comfortable paying, creating a stalemate.

There’s no way of knowing which decision is ultimately the right one. But the stakes that are riding on this decision are massive. Tying up that type of money could keep the Ravens from improving for the 2020 season. But not keeping their only real pass-rushing threat could actually make them worse if they can’t find help in free agency.

General manager Eric DeCosta has been on fire since taking over for Ozzie Newsome. He’s worked hard to re-sign key players before they hit free agency and has saved the Ravens quite a lot of trouble already. But his decision on Judon is one that will affect Baltimore’s entire offseason and could derail the team’s momentum if he makes the wrong choice.

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Trading OLB Matthew Judon might be in Ravens’ best interest

The Baltimore Ravens have a tough decision to make with Matthew Judon that could involve trading him instead of re-signing him

Baltimore Ravens outside linebacker Matthew Judon offers an interesting dilemma this offseason. He seems destined to hit the free-agent market where Baltimore simply won’t be able to keep up with other franchises that have a wealth of cap space to burn. If the Ravens don’t feel they’ll be able to lock up Judon to a long-term deal, trading him might be their best scenario here.

Judon is going to be one of the top options in free agency and will likely command serious money if allowed to hit the open market. Of course, the Ravens have the franchise tag available to keep Judon in town if they absolutely want, but it also has some serious ramifications on Baltimore’s salary cap while only locking him up for the 2020 season. It also leaves the option open for Judon to not sign his tender and hold out, or worse; sign the deal and still walk next offseason.

Though Baltimore has more cap space expected than in previous years, they still rank the bottom third of the league, according to Over The Cap. As of right now, 15 teams are expected to have more than $50 million available to spend this offseason, with two teams having more than $90 million in cap space. With just shy of $29 million expected to be available, according to OTC, the Ravens cannot keep up with the checkbooks of other teams if Judon gets serious interest in free agency.

Baltimore is staring down a potential repeat of last season where they lost key starters C.J. Mosley, Za’Darius Smith and Terrell Suggs for only compensatory picks in return. If the Ravens are planning on being buyers at all in free agency, they could just as easily wipe out the compensatory pick they’d acquire for Judon’s departure, which would be adding insult to injury here.

General manager Eric DeCosta might have learned from last offseason and could decide to go on the offensive here instead. As a top pending free-agent pass rusher, Judon is sure to draw interest from plenty of teams. But not every team will be interested in getting into a bidding war for his services or taking the chance they might not get him. Those teams might be far more eager to guarantee they can land Judon by trading with Baltimore and signing him to a long-term deal themselves.

From just last offseason until now, the NFL has had a bevy of trades to prove that star players can carry a lot of trade value.

The New York Jets traded defensive end Leonard Williams for a third-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft and a fifth/fourth-round pick in 2021. The Jacksonville Jaguars sent cornerback Jalen Ramsey to the Los Angeles Rams in return for two first-round picks and a fourth-rounder. The Kansas City Chiefs paid a second-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft for San Francisco 49ers defensive end Dee Ford. The Chiefs also sent defensive end Frank Clark and a third-round pick to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for first-, second- and third-round picks.

By that history, it seems pretty likely Baltimore would net more than a third-round pick in exchange for Judon. If the Ravens can get a few teams interested, a first-round pick or more doesn’t seem to be out of the realm of possibility.

To play their options out and incentivize other teams to make a move, Baltimore could apply the franchise tag to Judon now. If Judon wants to have more control over where he goes, he could decide to not sign the tag unless he likes the destination. But that would also mean the Ravens could rescind the tag at any time before the deadline in May and still let Judon hit free agency like normal. It’s a win-win for Baltimore here given that re-signing Judon seems pretty unlikely at this point.

The Ravens still need help at pass rusher and one guy isn’t going to fix the problem, including just re-signing Judon. Baltimore would be better off picking up multiple second-tier players while using the draft to hopefully acquire an immediate game-changing talent. Trading Judon would mean the Ravens could spend their cap space on those types of free agents while giving them an extra early-round pick to either move up for a star prospect or take multiple shots at the position.

Of course, all this is dependent on other teams being interested in trading for Judon. But on the flip side, if Judon doesn’t draw much interest on the trade market, it might indicate his value as a free agent isn’t nearly as high as expected either and might push him to sign a long-term deal with Baltimore for cheaper.

There seems to be no downside to dangling Judon out as a trade option and a lot of serious upsides to trading him away.

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Franchise tag could be Ravens’ friend with OLB Matthew Judon

How the Baltimore Ravens handle OLB Matthew Judon in free agency will shape their entire offseason. The franchise tag could be their friend.

One of the top problems facing the Baltimore Ravens this offseason revolves around pending free agent outside linebacker Matthew Judon. As the top priority from Baltimore’s 21 pending free agents, the Ravens can’t allow Judon to walk away this offseason, no matter the cost.

But the reality is Judon isn’t going to be cheap. As we saw last offseason with C.J. Mosley, Za’Darius Smith and even Terrell Suggs, good defensive players tend to get paid big bucks if they’re allowed to hit free agency. In looking at what Judon will likely get offered this offseason, we settled on $17 million a year as a solid expectation. But it’s conceivable Judon earns even more if a team with a wealth of cap space to burn falls in love with him and starts a bidding war.

The Ravens’ best and most sure option would be to utilize the franchise tag — something Baltimore has rarely done in their 25-year history. According to Over The Cap, the franchise tag for outside linebackers is expected to cost $16.266 million for 2020. That’s a hefty cost for just one year but the Ravens might not have an option.

Behind Judon on the Ravens’ depth chart is . . . no one really. Tyus Bowser is the next guy up with Jaylon Ferguson likely starting on the opposite side and Aaron Adeoye giving the Ravens just three outside linebackers currently under contract. While there’s hope both Bowser and Ferguson will take another step forward next season, they combined for just 7.5 sacks and 19 quarterback hits in 2019 — 2 fewer sacks and 14 fewer quarterback hits than Judon alone.

Baltimore could turn their attention to free agency as well but either they’d be forced to pay a similarly huge amount for another pass rusher or they’d have to take a lesser player for a better bargain. Neither option is any better than simply locking up Judon — the player the Ravens already know well.

Signing Judon to a long-term deal would be Baltimore’s best bet. Baltimore would be able to play with the contract numbers and better pick where Judon’s largest cap hits will take place. Either they could take the brunt of the contract early or they could backload the deal.

But Judon would be wise to take a dip into the free-agent market to hopefully raise his pricetag dramatically in the event multiple teams try to outbid one another. For Baltimore, that certainly wouldn’t guarantee they’re able to keep Judon and it could end up costing them millions of dollars per year if they get into a bidding war because of it.

In comes the franchise tag. Though it would put the Ravens immediately on the hook for the full $16.266 million, cutting their 2020 salary cap space dramatically, it would guarantee Judon remains on their roster for at least 2020.

At that point, Baltimore would have a little more leverage to work out a long-term deal with Judon. Or, as we’ve seen become more common in recent years, the Ravens could trade Judon for more than the likely third-round compensatory pick they’d get from letting him walk in free agency.

But as with anything, it’s a gamble Baltimore is going to have to weigh carefully. They have other needs outside of just re-signing Judon and handing him the franchise tag would make signing other top free agents more difficult to pull off. There’s also no guarantee Judon would be willing to play under the franchise tag or sign a long-term deal with the Ravens at a value they’d find acceptable. Yet, Baltimore would still be on the hook for the cost of the franchise tag in those scenarios.

It’s a tough decision for general manager Eric DeCosta that will undoubtedly shape how the Ravens handle their entire offseason.

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