Never say never, but fans shouldn’t expect the New Orleans Saints to use the franchise tag in 2024. The team did a good jump last summer getting a jump on their upcoming free agents: players like defensive end Carl Granderson, right guard Cesar Ruiz, and defensive end Cameron Jordan all signed extensions before they would have hit the open market this spring. They lack players the tag’s heavy price tag would justify keeping.
On top of that, they’re so far in the red that they need as many cap-friendly contracts as possible, and the franchise tag is a lead weight on that scale. Once handed out it cannot be restructured, reduced, or otherwise manipulated.
But the tag could make life difficult for some of New Orleans’ division rivals, specifically the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tampa Bay has three key candidates headed for free agency in All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr., firebrand quarterback Baker Mayfield, as well as amateur boxer and wide receiver Mike Evans.
Of the three, Winfield is likeliest to receive the tag. It shouldn’t be hard for the Bucs to hammer out an extension with Mayfield. Evans is a different story. His contract voids on Monday, Feb. 19, accelerating $7.4 million onto their salary cap in dead money, and tagging him isn’t an option. He’s a rare case. If the NFL-estimated cap hit (for wide receivers this year, about $21.6 million) is lower than 120% of last year’s cap number, the team would have to pay the higher amount. In this case, that would be a fully-guaranteed $28.4 million, and the Bucs would have to balk at that.
Another team to watch: the Carolina Panthers. Spendthrift owner David Tepper has managed his money poorly and has been unable to sign pass rusher Brian Burns to a long-term extension, but he’s paid millions of dollars to multiple head coaches he’s fired (Matt Rhule, Frank Reich, and soon, history suggests, Dave Canales). The Panthers balked at both a multiyear deal with Burns and lucrative trade offers from other teams last year, then changed his position listing from defensive end to linebacker with a move to a 3-4 defense.
It means tagging Burns costs a little less (about $1.3 million), which could buy the Panthers more time to work on a longer deal. However, Burns could take them to arbitration arguing he’s a defensive end (with an estimated $23.3 million tag), not an outside linebacker (about $22 million), just as Jimmy Graham did with the Saints back in the day.
Burns will likely be staying in Carolina (largely against his will), but there’s a good chance Evans could be moving on as a free agent, catching passes and starting fights elsewhere around the league. Of course it’s possible the Buccaneers could hammer out an extension with him. They’re just going to have one less tool in their toolbox to negotiate with. The NFL’s two-week window to use the franchise tag opens on Tuesday, Feb. 20 and closes Tuesday, March 5.
