The NFL offseason entered one of its notable thresholds as the window for teams to deploy the franchise tag opened Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET. Teams can begin designating the franchise tag onto players, ensuring that they’ll remain on the roster for the upcoming season on a fully guaranteed salary. The window closes Tuesday, March 4.
This is always an intriguing period on the league calendar and provides a clearer picture of who’ll reach the open market when free agency kicks off March 12. Below, we’ll take a look at the projected franchise tag figures (courtesy of Over the Cap) and examine each team’s likelihood of using the tag.
| Position | Franchise tag |
|---|---|
| QB | $41,325,000 |
| LB | $27,050,000 |
| WR | $25,693,000 |
| OL | $25,156,000 |
| DE | $24,727,000 |
| DT | $23,468,000 |
| CB | $20,357,000 |
| S | $19,626,000 |
| TE | $14,241,000 |
| RB | $13,629,000 |
| ST | $6,459,000 |
Potential franchise tag player: None
Arizona doesn’t have any free agents that warrant consideration of the franchise tag as they’ve already taken care of potential candidates like James Conner and Budda Baker with extensions. Looking down the line, tight end Trey McBride could be a tag candidate next offseason if the Cardinals do not extend him before then.
Potential franchise tag player: None
The Falcons are currently $11.1 million over the salary cap, so the tag doesn’t seem to make much financial sense at the moment. Moreover, the club also doesn’t have a viable tag candidate with Matt Judon, who is 33 years old, as the most notable free agent.
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Potential franchise tag player: Ronnie Stanley
The Ravens have deployed the tag in each of the previous two offseasons, but with just $5.9 million in cap space it doesn’t seem to be in the cards for the organization at this juncture. If they were to use it, starting offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley would be a worthy candidate even at the projected $25 million figure.
Potential franchise tag player: None
The Buffalo Bills are $14.1 million over the cap and have no free agents truly worth considering for the tag. Amari Cooper is a notable free agent, but the tag number for a wide receiver is $25.6 million. It also hasn’t been a part of their team building strategy for quite a while as the front office has not used the tag in the past seven offseason.
Potential franchise tag player: None
The Panthers have 21 free agents this offseason, but none rise to the level where the team would need to utilize the franchise tag. For a rebuilding team, they can use their $20.3 million in cap space much wiser.
Potential franchise tag player: None
The Bears have plenty of money to spend this offseason with $62.9 million in available space. However, their top free agents aren’t strong options for the tag. For instance, Keenan Allen is an aging player, so handing him a $25.6 million deal doesn’t make sense.
Potential franchise tag player: Tee Higgins
Maybe the most interesting franchise tag situation in the league resides in Cincinnati. The Bengals already tagged wideout Tee Higgins last year, so doing so again would cost the organization a pretty penny. Ordinarily, the tag figure for wide receivers is projected to be $25.6 million this offseason. In the case of Higgins, however, that number would be roughly $26.2 million (120% of last season’s salary) because of the second tag. Again, that would be fully guaranteed.
Joe Burrow has been adamant that the franchise can retain Higgins, so maybe tagging him could prove to be a placeholder before ultimately reaching an long-term extension. While more costly over the long-term, an extension would also provide some salary cap relief. Instead of the $26.2 million landing onto their cap for 2025, an extension would allow the organization to spread out the cap charge.
Potential franchise tag player: None
Cleveland is currently $30.1 million over the salary cap, so it is in no true position to look at the franchise tag as an option this offseason. Their most notable free agents are also Nick Chubb and Jedrick Wills, and both should come in cheaper than the tag for their respective positions.
Potential franchise tag player: Osa Odighizuwa
Odighizuwa is a potential candidate for Dallas, but the $23.4 million tag figure is pricy for a Cowboys organization that is currently $2.8 million over the salary cap. Odighizuwa is coming off a 2024 season where he set career highs in sacks (4.5) and quarterback hits (23).
Potential franchise tag player: None
The Broncos have a sizable list of looming free agents, including Javonte Williams and D.J. Jones. However, none are worthy of receiving the franchise tag as their market should come in much lower than the tag figure.
Potential franchise tag player: None
The last time the Lions used the franchise tag came back in 2018, so this is a rather uncommon tool for them to use in a given offseason. While they have $45.6 million in available cap space, it doesn’t seem like Brad Holmes will use the tag on the likes of Carlton Davis III or Kevin Zeitler, who are both hitting the market.
Potential franchise tag player: None
Similar to Detroit above, the Packers don’t use the franchise tag often, so it’s hard to imagine them deploying it this offseason, especially with no major free agents. They’ll spend their $42 million in available space elsewhere.
Potential franchise tag player: Stefon Diggs
The Houston Texans are roughly $100,000 over the salary cap, so the franchise tag might not make the most fiscal sense as they get their books in order. If they were to use it, Stefon Diggs would be an interesting candidate. While the $25.6 million tag is quite pricey, it could be beneficial for the Texans to retain a talented player as they push for a deep playoff run in 2025. It’d also make sense for Diggs to prove he’s back to full strength after suffering a season-ending ACL tear last season.
Potential franchise tag player: None
The Colts have $28.2 million in cap space this offseason, but don’t have a clear-cut free agent to use the franchise tag on this time around. That’s credit to Indy re-signing a chunk of their core players like wideout Michael Pittman Jr. and DeForest Buckner already.
Potential franchise tag player: None
Similar to the Colts, the Jags, who have $32.2 million in cap space, already took care of their notable players, inking Trevor Lawrence and Josh Hines-Allen to extensions last offseason. Starting guard Brandon Scherff is a notable free agent, but not a realistic option for the tag.
Potential franchise tag player: Trey Smith
The Chiefs are roughly $1 million over the salary cap, so they will need to rework their books before free agency. Starting left guard Trey Smith is set to be one of the more sought after interior linemen on the market this spring, and while Kansas City would like to retain him, it may be too costly to do that via the franchise tag.
Potential franchise tag player: None
The Raiders last used the tag back in 2023 on running back Josh Jacobs, but it doesn’t seem logical for them this offseason. They do have the second-most cap space in the league with $92.5 million at their disposal, but there’s no obvious tag candidate. Safety Tre’Von Moehrig did have a standout season, but probably not worth investing $19.6 million in with the tag.
Potential franchise tag player: None
The Chargers have $63.4 million in salary cap space, but don’t have a player that’s worthy of the tag this offseason. Edge rusher Khalil Mack would be a candidate, but there is language in his contract that he cannot be tagged.
Potential franchise tag player: Alaric Jackson
Left tackle Alaric Jackson could be an option for the franchise tag, but the $25.1 million requirement it would take to keep him in Los Angeles may be a bit too pricey for the Rams. The club does have $38.3 million in available cap space.
Potential franchise tag player: Jevon Holland
Miami needs to get cap compliant before trying to retain players by way of the franchise tag. Currently, the club is $5.4 million over the cap. If the Dolphins were to get their ducks in a row, Jevon Holland could make some sense to keep, albeit at a rather steep $19.6 million price. The former second-round pick is just 24 years old, but is coming off his least productive season since coming into the league, logging zero interceptions in 2024.
Potential franchise tag player: Sam Darnold
The Vikings are in a precarious position at quarterback. The club signed Darnold to a one-year deal last offseason as a stop gap option and the veteran lit it up. He helped Minnesota win 14 games in the regular season and nearly clinched the No. 1 seed in the conference. However, Darnold did stumble down the stretch, including the playoff loss to the Rams. That along with the presence of former first-round quarterback J.J. McCarthy does cloud the future for the Vikings. While Darnold will seek a long-term extension, the Vikings could make the savvy move of franchising him to keep him in-house for another year as McCarthy develops.
Potential franchise tag player: None
The Patriots have the most salary cap space in the NFL at roughly $120 million, but there is no viable candidate for the franchise tag. New England had one of the least talented rosters in the league in 2024, so it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that there isn’t a solid option to franchise at this stage of the rebuild.
Potential franchise tag player: None
The Saints are $54.1 million over the salary cap, so it’s effectively impossible to consider them a team that would deploy the franchise tag this offseason. Chase Young and Juwan Johnson are going to be sough-after on the free agent market, but neither has a market value where it makes sense to franchise them.
Potential franchise tag player: None
Darius Slayton is New York’s most notable free agent this offseason, and is not the caliber of player to warrant the $25.6 million it would cost to keep him via the franchise tag. The Giants have $43.3 million in cap space this offseason, but it’s hard to imagine some of that going towards a tag.
Potential franchise tag player: D.J. Reed
D.J. Reed is going to be a popular man in free agency and there’s a decent case to be made for the Jets to keep the young corner in-house via the franchise tag. However, it’s important to note that this is an entirely new regime that is leading New York with Aaron Glenn installed as head coach and Darren Mougey at GM. With just $16.8 million in salary cap space, it would be quite the move if the Jets retained Reed with the tag.
Potential franchise tag player: Zack Baun
Part of the reason the Philadelphia Eagles are Super Bowl champions is because GM Howie Roseman is one of the best in the NFL at what he does. A shining example of that was last offseason where he brought in a ton of impact players to help propel them to a championship, including Zack Baun. The linebacker turned in a first-team All-Pro season after inking a one-year deal last offseason, and is now due for a massive pay bump. The tag would pay Baun $27 million and Philly currently has $18 million in available space, so it’ll be tricky to keep some/all of these championship pieces.
Potential franchise tag player: None
The Steelers have a decision to make at quarterback with both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields set to hit free agency. While the club does have $53 million in cap space this offseason, neither of those signal-callers have a market that would warrant the franchise tag of $41.3 million.
Potential franchise tag player: None
The main priority for the 49ers this offseason is inking Brock Purdy to an extension. So, while they have $43.6 million in cap space to spend, it’ll likely go toward Purdy’s looming deal rather than using it toward the franchise tag.
Potential franchise tag player: None
The Seahawks are $13.4 million over the salary cap, so they’ll need to finagle some restructures to get under the threshold. On top of potentially not having the financial capabilities to utilize the tag, it also hasn’t been a big practice of GM John Schneider, who has only used it twice over his tenure.
Potential franchise tag player: None
The Bucs have $2.2 million in available cap space, so there is work to be done to get cap compliant. Even if/when they do, it’s hard to pinpoint an option for the team to use the tag on. Chris Godwin is the first name to draw some attention as he’s slated to hit free agency, but the wideout is coming off a gruesome season-ending ankle injury. Godwin was also tagged twice previously, making a potential third tag simply too expensive to consider.
Potential franchise tag player: None
Tennessee has money to spend with $44 million in cap space, but its looming free-agent pool doesn’t have any top-tier talent that would result in the team using the franchise tag. For example, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine impressed this season, but isn’t going to fetch a $25.6 million deal on the open market.
Potential franchise tag player: None
Washington has some notable free agents like Bobby Wagner and Zach Ertz, but given that those veterans are on the back nine of their careers, it wouldn’t make sense to franchise them. The Commanders don’t have many other options with the tag beyond them, but they should certainly be active this offseason with the third-most cap space in the league currently.