By John Sarianides
The window to place the franchise tag on a player opens today. Teams will have the next two weeks to decide on whether or not they want to place the franchise tag on a player they want to keep.
Here are ten players that must be tagged in my opinion.
1. Kirk Cousins, QB, Washington Redskins: The Redskins MUST franchise Cousins because if they don’t, he will end up in San Francisco. The Niners have $87 million dollars worth of cap space and need a quarterback. Cousins has a relationship with new coach Kyle Shanahan. If that is not enough motivation for the Redskins to franchise Cousins, I don’t know what is. They must re-sign him.
2. Eric Berry, FS, Kansas City Chiefs: Berry has already said that he will not play under the franchise tag next season. He has threatened to sit out if tagged by the Chiefs. Despite that, the Chiefs have to call his bluff and franchise him anyway.
Andy Reid and general managerJohn Dorsey will try to sign Berry to a long term deal before the start of free agency but if the two sides can’t come to an agreement, the Chiefs have to franchise Berry. He is too valuable to their defense not to franchise.
3. LeVeon Bell, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers: The good backs in this league usually get one big pay day in their career before the age of 30. Bell is 24 so he will be looking to get paid like one of the best backs in the league.
Bell is among the top three at his position so he will get a big pay day whether it is this off season or next off-season. The Steelers will do everything they can to sign Bell to a new deal but if they can not, they must franchise him. Bell has indicated he would play under the tag.
4. Dont’a Hightower, ILB, New England Patriots: The Patriots traded away Chandler Jones and Jaime Collins partly because they valued Hightower more and were more willing to pay him. The Patriots will now have to either pony up and pay Hightower or they must franchise. Hightower has stated in the past that he would play under the franchise tag so it wouldn’t be surprising if the Patriots tagged him.
5. Kawaan Short, DT, Carolina Panthers:Short is one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL and he would get a monster deal on the open market. The Buffalo Bills and new head coach Sean McDermott would be the first in line to sign Short.
The Panthers will more than likely place the tag on Short. They have to. He is an essential piece to what they do defensively.
6. Chandler Jones, DE, Arizona Cardinals: Jones would attract major interest in the open market. He is the best pass rusher available and he could easily get a contract comparable to the one Olivier Vernon got from the New York Giants last off-season. Jones will have plenty of suitors. The Cardinals will need to place the tag on Jones because if they don’t, they won’t be able to re-sign him. It will give them enough time to negotiate a new deal with him.
7. A.J Bouye, CB, Houston Texans: Bouye had a terrific season and he is in line to get a major pay raise. The Texans want to keep him but they might have to make a tough decision on veteran Johnathan Joseph in order to do so.
Bouye can make a lot of money in the open market because of his length and man to man coverage skills. If the Texans don’t want to pay, someone else will. It would behoove the Texans to franchise Bouye now, negotiate a deal with him and lock him up long term.
8. Melvin Ingram, OLB, Los Angeles Chargers: The Chargers cannot afford to lose their second best pass rusher in Ingram. Ingram along with Joey Bosa form a dynamic one, two punch off the edge for the Chargers.
Los Angeles has the makings to be very good defensively in new defensive coordinator Gus Bradley’s scheme. Ingram will be a key piece to making the scheme work. The Chargers must franchise him and get a new deal done with him. If they do, he could put monster numbers from “Elephant” end position.
9. Terrelle Pryor, WR, Cleveland Browns: The Browns must franchise Pryor. He is on the brink of becoming a star and for a team that lacks talent and star power, it is important that Cleveland locks Pryor up long term.
It is imperative that the Browns lock up Pryor long term. Especially if they plan on making a run at Jimmy Garoppolo.
10. Brandon Williams, DT, Baltimore Ravens: Williams is one of the best run stuffing defensive tackles in the NFL. He is a key cog in terms of what the Ravens do with their fronts and pressures.
The Ravens have to franchise Williams because if don’t, they will lose him in the open market. It would be a big blow to a defense that is starting to play at a high level.