Beginning Tuesday, Feb. 20, NFL teams will be able to place the franchise tag or transition tag on players. That window for tagging to-be free agents closes March 5. It’s unlikely the 49ers will be utilizing that window at all.
The franchise tag is a one-year, fully guaranteed deal worth an average of the top five salaries at the player’s position. A transition tag is a one-year, fully guaranteed deal worth an average of the top 10 salaries at the player’s position.
There are some minutiae that go into each tag and the differences between them, but those aren’t going to matter for San Francisco.
Franchise or transition tags are utilized typically on top-end free agents who might fetch sizable long-term deals in free agency. The 49ers don’t have any of those players this year.
Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk is on his fifth-year option from his rookie deal and isn’t subject to a tag, although he could be if he and the team don’t come to a long-term deal this offseason.
Defensive end Chase Young might have been a candidate had he performed better in his 12 games (including the postseason) with San Francisco. Just 3.5 sacks in that stretch was probably south of what the 49ers were hoping to get from the former No. 2 overall pick.
Beyond that the 49ers just don’t have any high-end free agents worthy of a tag. The last time they used the franchise tag was after the 2018 season when kicker Robbie Gould was set to hit free agency. Since then they’ve not utilized that contractual apparatus, and it doesn’t look like they’ll be doing so again in 2024.
