The franchise tag is primed to become the bane of the Dolphins’ existence this offseason. The Miami Dolphins’ rebuild is inevitably going to fall upon free agency in addition to the NFL Draft. Sure, the Dolphins’ draft capital will be an essential piece of the puzzle, but this team isn’t looking to take 3 seasons to turn things around — this is an admittedly aggressive rebuild that will need to call upon blue chip players in free agency to bring everything together.
There’s just one problem. The free agent field is slowly whittling away at key positions as the Dolphins watch teams across the league slowly lean into their decisions with the franchise tag. The latest example comes from Baltimore, where the Ravens are poised to take another blue chip pass rusher off the market.
According to ESPN’s Jenna Laine, outside linebacker Matthew Judon is expect to receive the franchise tag.
I’m told the Ravens plan on using the franchise tag on Matthew Judon. Hunter Henry will also likely be tagged by the Chargers. Teams have until March 12 to make these decisions.
— JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) March 2, 2020
Dolphins fans will remember Judon for his crushing blow on Kalen Ballage in Week 1 of the 2019 season — a Ravens blowout win at Hard Rock Stadium. Judon experienced a career year in 2019 and, after the news of Yannick Ngakoue’s likely tag designation, was arguably the most attractive outside pass rusher on the market for the Dolphins.
Now, the Dolphins will need to look to commit business via trade if they wish to bring the outside linebacker into the fold — a proposition that won’t come cheap as the team looks to build out their roster and fill as many needs as realistically possible. What would Judon cost? A 2nd-round pick at the very least, plus a new contract extension to lock him into the foreseeable future with the Dolphins.
It is likely to be a more friendly proposition for Miami than pursuing Ngakoue, who will almost assuredly command a 1st-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft for any team looking to get a deal done ahead of April’s draft.
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