NFL Franchise Tag 2015: Full List of Players

The NFL franchise tag is a clause in the salary-cap era that is cause for friction for many front offices. One player is eligible for the optional designation, which comes in three distinct forms and can be used starting Monday and ending on March 2.

An exclusive rights franchise tag mandates that the player can't negotiate with another team. It keeps him under contract for one season at the average salary of a top-five player at his position from the current year.

If a player receives a non-exclusive rights tag, his incumbent team can match any offer he receives from a different team and gets two first-round picks in compensation if he ultimately flees. The non-exclusive salary is calculated by using the average of the highest-paid players at the position from each of the previous five years.

Cleveland Browns center Alex Mack was under the rarer transition tag last year, which gives the player a top-10 average salary at his position. Unlike the non-exclusive franchise tag, the transition tag doesn't award the incumbent team any compensation if the player signs elsewhere.

NFL.com's Gregg Rosenthal and Marc Sessler included 2015 projections for franchise tag amounts from their colleague Albert Breer this last Friday, which can be viewed in the table below:

Position	Salary (In Millions)
Quarterback	$18.51
Running Back	$10.93
Wide Receiver	$12.80
Tight End	$8.33
Offensive Line	$12.92
Defensive Tackle	$11.17
Defensive End	$14.78
Linebacker	$13.17
Cornerback	$13.05
Safety	$9.60
Specialist (Kicker or Punter)	$4.12

If the calculated tag amount is less than 120 percent of the player's previous salary, which is seldom the case, then the player is simply paid 120 percent of his previous salary.

Although negotiations for a long-term deal can continue if a player is tagged, it becomes increasingly difficult to hang onto players in that way.

A second straight franchise tag pays the player 120 percent of his previous amount and increases to 144 percent if he's tagged a third straight year. It is thus a daunting cost to tag a player for two straight years, much less three.

What makes this entire concept tricky is that the better teams may have multiple players as prime candidates. The lesser teams want to hold onto their stars and keep them happy, but also need to explore big-name free agents while still staying within their cap means.

Now that the explanation is fleshed out, read on for a complete list of teams and the most notable franchise tag candidates entering the upcoming critical period of the 2015 NFL offseason.

Note: Franchise tag information courtesy of Article 10 in the August 2011 CBA. See pages 59 and 60 of PDF file.

Team	Prediction	Player Tagged
Arizona Cardinals	Won't use
Atlanta Falcons	Won't use
Baltimore Ravens	Won't use
Buffalo Bills	Won't use
Carolina Panthers	Won't use
Chicago Bears	Won't use
Cincinnati Bengals	Won't use
Cleveland Browns	Won't use
Dallas Cowboys	Dez Bryant, WR	Dez Bryant, WR
Denver Broncos	Demaryius Thomas, WR	Demaryius Thomas, WR
Detroit Lions	Won't use
Green Bay Packers	Bryan Bulaga, OT
Houston Texans	Won't use
Indianapolis Colts	Won't use
Jacksonville Jaguars	Won't use
Kansas City Chiefs	Justin Houston, OLB	Justin Houston, OLB
Miami Dolphins	Won't use	Charles Clay, TE (transitions)
Minnesota Vikings	Won't use
New England Patriots	Stephen Gostkowski, K	Stephen Gostkowski, K
New Orleans Saints	Won't use
New York Giants	Won't use	Jason Pierre-Paul, DE
New York Jets	Won't use
Oakland Raiders	Won't use
Philadelphia Eagles	Won't use
Pittsburgh Steelers	Won't use
San Diego Chargers	Won't use
San Francisco 49ers	Won't use
Seattle Seahawks	Won't use
St. Louis Rams	Won't use
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Won't use
Tennessee Titans	Won't use
Washington Redskins	Won't use

Analyzing Top Franchise Tag Candidates

Dez Bryant, WR, Dallas Cowboys

As excellent as DeMarco Murray was in 2014, the success he achieved was largely thanks to tremendous blocking up front. Both dimensions of the Cowboys offense complemented each other perfectly, but Bryant is the most irreplaceable playmaker of the lot.

Bryant is one of the best receivers in the NFL, something Dallas can't easily find on the open market or through the draft. ESPN's Mark Schlereth went even further, via Pro Football on ESPN:

After stepping up his work ethic and placing a true priority on maximizing his huge potential, Bryant has been a dominant force. SiriusXM NFL Radio highlights Bryant's consistency in the past few seasons:

Meanwhile, Murray is more of a one-year wonder who has injury concerns from his past. Investing a projected $10.93 million in him is rich when Dallas ought to prioritize shoring up its defense instead.

A potential Murray replacement can be had in what should be a superb 2015 draft class for his position.

Defenders have to account for Bryant lining up anywhere on the field. His superb athleticism, catch radius, ball skills, strength and vision after the catch make him almost unstoppable. There isn't much depth in the receiver corps, as diminutive slot option Cole Beasley can't be a pure go-to guy, and Terrance Williams is a solid No. 2 but isn't in Bryant's stratosphere.

The presumption is that Bryant will remain a Cowboy for the rest of his career. Giving him the franchise tag now with the promise of working out a long-term deal before next offseason should keep everyone on America's Team happy.

Justin Houston, OLB, Kansas City Chiefs

Reported mutual interest exists between the Chiefs and Houston to work something out before he hits the open market.

Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk provided a Sunday update on what the plan is for the two sides:

"

In the past, the Chiefs and linebacker Justin Houston have tried, without success, to work out a new contract.  In the near future, they’ll try again.

Per a league source, the Chiefs and Houston's agent, Joel Segal, will make another attempt early in the week at making progress on a long-term deal. The Chiefs are expected to apply the franchise tag to Houston, who racked up 22 sacks in 2014, absent an agreement.

"

Spotrac projects Kansas City to be more than $1.6 million over the cap in 2015. Given the difficult financial situation Kansas City is in, it seems more likely that Houston will be franchise tagged, unless the two sides can agree to a backloaded deal.

Tacking the majority of money onto the end of a long-term contract can be tricky, because the longer time goes on, the greater chance there is for Houston to get hurt or for production to wane.

It isn't likely he'll keep up at 22 sacks per season, the number he led the NFL with last year. However, Pro Football Focus highlights how often Houston pressured the opposing passer in 2014:

There will be a lot of guaranteed cash involved regardless. The good news is that agent Joel Segal and the Chiefs have maintained strong enough relations to meet multiple times regarding Houston's future. There just appears to be gridlock on the bottom-line amount.

Kansas City can't really afford to lose Houston, especially with a dearth of depth at the position. His pass-rushing skills are second to almost no one in all of football.

General manager John Dorsey and Co. will have to get crafty with the cap to help the Chiefs contend for the playoffs in 2015, and nailing the impending draft is vital to that effort.

Demaryius Thomas, WR, Denver Broncos

As much flack as Josh McDaniels got in his brief coaching stint in Denver, he did bring in a raw receiver in Thomas from a run-heavy Georgia Tech college offense who has now blossomed into an elite NFL wideout.

Thomas' speed is astonishing given how large he is, and whether Peyton Manning returns or not in 2015, Denver's signal-callers can't do without someone like Thomas on the outside.

In light of the franchise-tag candidates and Dallas' slight dilemma with Murray, this anecdote from Football Outsiders' Scott Kacsmar is interesting:

Other worthy Broncos tag candidates, such as run-stuffing defensive tackle Terrance Knighton and matchup nightmare tight end Julius Thomas, are tag-worthy. As Bleacher Report's Mike Freeman reported, though, Knighton has been fined $300,000 for weight issues in recent years.

Julius Thomas has been great often in his young career, but Demaryius Thomas has a longer track record of production and therefore should command a greater payday.

The Broncos can focus on Julius Thomas' long-term offer after they see what the market is for him. He's just not as indispensable as Demaryius Thomas.

In this pass-happy NFL era, a top-tier wide receiver is invaluable. Consistently productive, pass-catching tight ends are a luxury, but they aren't as consistently reliable, if only for the sheer nature of their position, which entails frequent blocking and more violent collisions at the point of attack.

The separation Demaryius Thomas can create on short routes and the yards he can rack up after the catch are crucial to Manning extending his career. For Brock Osweiler, or whoever has the unenviable task of succeeding Manning, an all-around playmaker like Thomas is going to help him live up to Mile High expectations.

GM John Elway should understand the importance of Thomas as a former two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback for the franchise. The big salary Manning will command if he does play this year makes a Thomas franchise tag all the more logical, too.