Best and Worst NFL Franchise-Tag Decisions Of the Last Decade as Deadline Nears
The franchise tags are beginning to flow ahead of next Tuesday's deadline for NFL teams to use the designations in order to keep players from hitting free agency.
Tee Higgins has already received the tag from the Cincinnati Bengals, while Brian Burns and Antoine Winfield Jr. are reportedly among those names set for the same designation.
And in celebration of that, we figured we'd head down memory lane to recall some of the best and worst tag decisions from the last decade.
Bad: A.J. Green by the Bengals in 2020
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This was a strange one because Green meant a lot to Cincinnati and vice versa, but he wasn't the same player at this stage of his career.
In July 2020, he was 32, coming off a major ankle injury and two years removed from his last 1,000-yard campaign.
The Bengals kept him at an $18.2 million tag cost, and he delivered 523 yards and two touchdowns in an unceremonious final season with the team.
Oh, and Cincy won just four games.
Good: Shaquil Barrett by the Buccaneers in 2020
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The Buccaneers knew there was no way they could let Shaquil Barrett get away in 2020 after the edge defender led the NFL with 19.5 sacks on a one-year prove-it contract in 2019.
And while his sack total plummeted from 19.5 to eight that following season, he put up four sacks in the playoffs as a key part of Tampa Bay's Super Bowl run.
So, yeah, he was worth the entire $18.3 million price tag at age 28.
The Bucs haven't gotten back to the Super Bowl since, but it's worth noting they did wrap up Barrett long-term the following offseason, and he's been a high-impact player ever since.
Bad: Trumaine Johnson by the Rams in 2016 and 2017
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The thing about Trumaine Johnson is he was never a particularly good player, but he did intercept seven passes despite often being a coverage liability in 2015.
Yet the Rams handed him more than $30 million over the course of back-to-back franchise-tag seasons. That's about $10 million per interception, all while getting burned often (he ranked outside of the top 40 among qualified cornerbacks at Pro Football Focus in both campaigns).
The Rams didn't win a playoff game during those two seasons, and Johnson's career was over just two years later.
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Good: Chris Jones by the Chiefs in 2020
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Would the Chiefs have made four of the last five Super Bowls without Chris Jones?
It's doubtful Patrick Mahomes and Co. would have three rings if Jones had gotten away as a free agent in 2020, but the team ensured that wouldn't happen by giving the Pro Bowl defensive lineman a $16.1 million tag.
Then, with the deadline to sign tag recipients to long-term deals looming, Jones signed a four-year, $80 million contract and the rest is history. Ever since, he's been a first- or second-team All-Pro every year for a team that is becoming a dynasty.
Now, the big question is what Kansas City will have to do to keep Jones on the roster, as he's set to hit the market next month.
Bad: Ezekiel Ansah by the Lions in 2018
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Ezekiel Ansah might not have been a total bust in Detroit, but the 2013 No. 5 overall pick lacked consistency throughout his time with the team. He had a solid 12 sacks in 2017, driving the Lions to slap him with a $17.5 million tag.
In his tag year, he recorded just four sacks in seven games for a 6-10 squad.
Injuries were a huge factor there, but that doesn't change the fact that it was a move that did not work out in the slightest before Ansah escaped to Seattle the following offseason.
He registered just 2.5 sacks the rest of his professional career.
Good: Orlando Brown Jr. by the Chiefs in 2022
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Another potential Super Bowl-shifting Kansas City tag decision came when the Chiefs kept Mahomes' blindside protector via a $16.7 million tender in 2022.
Orlando Brown Jr. was again a Pro Bowler that year as the team lifted the Lombardi Trophy, so it's hard to argue with that investment.
Yes, he did get away the following offseason and the Chiefs did win the Super Bowl without him this year. But his performance in Super Bowl LVII win over the Eagles was stellar.
Bad: Brian Orakpo by Washington in 2014
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This is a similar situation to Ansah and the Lions, as Brian Orakpo put up 10 sacks as a Pro Bowler in 2013 and Washington obviously had to believe in a player it drafted in the first round five years earlier.
Unfortunately, a torn pectoral cost the edge defender the majority of that 2014 campaign as he recorded just half a sack in seven games for a team that won just four games.
That's not ideal for $11.5 million.
And that was it. The following offseason, Orakpo joined the Titans. He did put together a couple decent seasons in Tennessee, but consistency continued to be an issue.
Good: Lamar Jackson by the Ravens in 2023
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The Ravens used the tag to buy themselves more time to iron out a long-term deal with their franchise quarterback last offseason, and it worked. In April, Lamar Jackson signed a five-year contract worth $260 million.
And while he didn't immediately deliver a championship to the Ravens, the 27-year-old was the league MVP for a team that was arguably the best in football for much of the 2023 campaign.
He's expensive, but he's one of the top players in the sport right in the middle of his prime. The tag call, while a feather-ruffler at the time, worked out well.
Bad: Allen Robinson II by the Bears in 2021
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Allen Robinson II put up 1,100-plus yards for the Chicago Bears in 2019 and 2020. He was still just 28 years old, and the team was somewhat competitive coming off an 8-8 season.
However, after the Bears hit the veteran wide receiver with a $17.9 million tag in 2021, he was never the same.
Robinson put up just 410 yards and scored just a single touchdown in what turned out to be his final season in Chicago.
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