Franchise Tag Only a Last Resort for Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers

The franchise tag—a tool first developed around the birth of free agency to help teams retain one looming free agent every season—should only be used as a last-resort option for the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers this offseason. 

The window for teams to use the tag officially opened Monday. The period runs through Monday, March 2, giving both the Lions, with defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, and Packers, with receiver Randall Cobb and tackle Bryan Bulaga, two full weeks to negotiate long-term deals for their star free agents. But if worse comes to worst, both clubs may have no choice but to use the tag's one-year guaranteed contract to keep the players off the open market. 

Free agency opens March 10. 

Neither team will want to use the tag over the next two weeks. 

For the Lions, the reason is clear: Using the franchise tag on Suh would cost a staggering $26.87 million. Such a high cap number on a non-quarterback would be restricting for any team in the NFL. It'd be especially restricting for the Lions, who have quarterback Matthew Stafford and receiver Calvin Johnson entering 2015 with a combined cap number of $38.3 million. Adding a $26.87 million hit would count over $65 million in salary to just three players for next season.

Also, the Lions do not currently possess the cap room needed to put the tag on Suh. The team would either need to complete a few contract restructures within the organization or release a player or two to free up the space. 

The Packers have more freedom in terms of the cap and tagging Cobb or Bulaga. Giving the franchise tag to Cobb would cost $12.8 million, while tagging Bulaga would cost $12.9 million. Neither figure would be suffocating to Green Bay's cap structure, especially if general manager Ted Thompson releases inside linebackers A.J. Hawk and Brad Jones (clearing over $7 million in salary) and restructures the deal of Julius Peppers (due $12 million in 2015).

Still, the franchise tag would currently give Cobb, primarily a slot receiver, the fourth-highest cap hit at the position in 2015. And nearly $13 million for Bulaga, a right tackle, is much more representative of the left tackle market in the NFL. 

Thompson has used the franchise tag only twice since taking over personnel in Green Bay in 2005. The designation hasn't been used by the Packers since 2010, when defensive tackle Ryan Pickett received the tag before eventually signing a long-term deal. Thompson likely avoids the tag because of the overpriced one-year cap hit and the obvious lack of security in keeping the player beyond the extra year. 

Both the Lions and Packers also have other free agents in 2015 to consider when deciding whether to apply a cap-heavy tag. 

Then again, both teams will be tempted to use the tag if negotiations for long-term deals fail to gain traction over the next two weeks. 

Suh, 28, is one of the NFL's transcendent defensive talents. His five seasons have included 36 sacks, four Pro Bowls, four first-team All-Pro selections and zero games missed due to injury. Suh's combination of talent, production and availability figures to make him one of the game's highest-paid defensive players, regardless of whether Detroit is the one writing the check or not.  

But don't underestimate the Lions' desire to retain Suh, and by any means. 

General manager Martin Mayhew said back in January that he wouldn't rule out the franchise tag for Suh. 

"We're going to leave every option open," Mayhew said, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. 

Meanwhile, the Packers remain a franchise built on drafting, developing and retaining players. Allowing either Cobb or Bulaga to walk in free agency would stray outside Green Bay's successful model. 

Year	Player	Tag Type
2005	Bubba Franks	Transition
2008	Corey Williams	Franchise
2010	Ryan Pickett	Franchise

Cobb, who set new career highs in catches, yards and touchdowns in 2014, established his value over a Pro Bowl season. His versatility inside the offense and his innate ability to create in scramble situations and in the red zone make him invaluable to quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. 

After suffering season-ending injuries in back-to-back years, Bulaga finally stayed healthy in 2014. He made 15 starts at right tackle and helped form one of the NFL's best offensive lines. He allowed just four sacks while also putting together a showcase performance in Buffalo by shutting down defensive end Mario Williams in Week 15. 

For both the Lions and Packers, the tag could be used as a means to an end. Once applied, the franchise tag allows a sizable negotiating period—ending July 15—to iron out a long-term deal. 

Like all players, Suh would rather not play under a one-year contract. There's too much risk. One injury and everything—financially and otherwise—can change. But he'd likely sign a franchise tender worth almost $27 million in a second. The Lions could then use the protection and extra time to finally get within striking range of Suh's contract demands. In all honesty, the only scenario in which using the tag on Suh makes sense is one in which Detroit feels confident in eventually hammering out a long-term deal before the July 15 deadline. 

The same idea applies in Green Bay. 

While the tag feels like the longest of long shots for Bulaga, it could serve as a tool in getting Cobb under contract long term. Cobb, 24, should want a multiyear deal. Playing under the tag is lucrative for one year but risky down the road. The Packers wouldn't want a $12.8 million cap hit in 2015 or the potential of losing Cobb next spring. There would be incentive for both sides to get a long-term deal done. 

Overall, both teams can avoid the hassle of the franchise tag by simply getting deals done between now and the two March deadlines. 

That figures to be easier said than done for the Lions and Suh. And the same might be true for the Packers, depending on how Cobb and Bulaga value themselves on the open market. 

The franchise tag can be a useful tool in certain situations. The Lions and Packers both have an out in case negotiations go south over the next two weeks.

But using the tag—a cap-damaging, one-year commitment—should be seen as nothing more than a last resort for each club. Long-term deals are almost always the better alternative. 

Zach Kruse covers the NFC North for Bleacher Report. 

Follow @zachkruse2