NFL Franchise Tag 2015: Tagged Players, Free-Agency Rumors and Twitter Reaction

The double-edged sword of the NFL's franchise tag came swinging down on five players Monday, as the Cowboys, Patriots, Broncos, Giants and Chiefs took action on the players with whom they wanted to keep exclusive negotiation rights.      

Wide receivers Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas, defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, kicker Stephen Gostkowski and linebacker Justin Houston each received the tag before the 4 p.m. ET deadline. The Dolphins also used their transition tag on tight end Charles Clay. The moves were expected in most cases but are nonetheless interesting when it comes to gauging reactions. 

Player	Position	Team
Justin Houston	LB	Kansas City Chiefs
Demaryius Thomas	WR	Denver Broncos
Jason Pierre-Paul	DE	New York Giants
Dez Bryant	WR	Dallas Cowboys
Stephen Gostkowski	K	New England Patriots
Charles Clay (Transition Tag)	TE	Miami Dolphins

On one hand, the franchise tag comes with a massive lump sum of money. Players who receive the tag are slotted a salary in 2015 that's the average of the five highest-paid players at their position, which guarantees them what's likely the biggest base salary of their careers. It also comes with zero long-term security, as a team can choose to use the franchise tag on a player in perpetuity if it so chooses.

For most of the players who received a tag Monday, it'll serve as a placeholder before a long-term deal can get done. The Cowboys are on record saying they want to sign Bryant to an extension but were putting the franchise tag on him to avoid open-market competition.

"

—> RT @SiriusXMNFL: AUDIO: @CAA_Football Agent Tom Condon talks about latest with Dez Bryant and the #Cowboys! >>> http://t.co/4bk1Yncbry

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 2, 2015"

"I still think that [it] would be a stretch to think that we would have something done by Monday and beat the franchise-tag deadline," Cowboys Executive Vice President Stephen Jones told reporters. "Looks like we're eyeing a franchise tag on Dez, but certainly won't stop us from working hard to get a long-term deal. ... We just don't want to lose his rights."

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (h/t Kevin Patra of NFL.com) reported the team is also looking into off-field concerns with Bryant, which informed their decision to be patient in negotiations. Bryant has scored an NFL-high 56 touchdowns during his five-year career, including a best of 16 in 2014. He's gone over 1,200 yards receiving each of the last three seasons.

Thomas has done Bryant one better, going over 1,400 yards in each of the last three years. The Broncos wideout has benefited from Peyton Manning's arrival perhaps more than any other player, ascending from raw talent to perennial Pro Bowler. Only Pittsburgh's Antonio Brown had more receiving yards than Thomas last season, and Thomas was eighth in Football Outsiders' Defense-adjusted Yards Above Replacement (DYAR) metric.

Denver has been more publicly quiet about its long-term plans for Thomas though at 27 years old, one would expect it to look into keeping him for the foreseeable future. Thomas receiving the franchise tag also means the Broncos will not have any way to retain tight end Julius Thomas, who should command a ton of interest on the open market. Rapoport (h/t Chris Wesseling of NFL.com) reported the Jaguars and Raiders will be actively pursuing Thomas.

For the Chiefs, the potential level of interest in Houston was more than enough to get them to use the franchise tag. Had he been able to test the free-agency waters, it's possible Houston would have come away one of the highest-paid individual defenders in NFL history. The edge-rusher nearly broke the single-season sack record in 2014 with 22 and has accumulated double-digit sacks in three of his four campaigns.

Pro Football Talk reported Houston is already considering holding out in protest of the tag:

Houston briefly held out last offseason while seeking a long-term deal. He eventually showed up on the first day of training camp and was a wrecking ball all year, so it's understandable he'd consider more drastic measures. The main reason Houston would show up in Week 10 is to accrue a service year and satisfy the technical terms of his contract.

The situation with Pierre-Paul should be far less tenuous. New York using its tag on the University of South Florida product makes sense on a number of levels. First, it's short-term insurance he'll be leading the defensive line in 2014. Second, the short-term arrangement protects the Giants in case Pierre-Paul goes from prince to pumpkin next season. His 12.5 sacks were four more than his 2012 and 2013 totals combined; Pierre-Paul's enigmatic talent has become a running storyline throughout his career.

With most of the players who received tags being expected, some of the most notable speculation surrounded players who did not get locked down. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport highlighted some of the biggest names that went un-tagged on Monday:

Denver's Thomas, Dallas running back DeMarco Murray and Detroit defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh were among the most high-profile stars who will be free to test their worth on the open market.

Dianna Marie Russini of NBC4 already had a list of three teams that will be chasing after Suh:

Suh, 28, is perhaps the best defensive tackle in football. He's made the Pro Bowl each of the last three seasons, is a five-time All-Pro and grades out as a future Hall of Famer regardless of what metric you use. In 2014, Suh made 53 tackles and had 8.5 sacks. Pro Football Focus' advanced metrics ranked him among the best defensive tackles against the run and pass.

From a production standpoint, Murray was the best player at his position in 2014. He led the NFL with 1,845 rushing yards on 392 carries, playing in all 16 games for the first time in his career. While there are viable concerns about his workload and injury history, ESPN's Ed Werder reported the Cowboys are preparing a "respectable" offer:

Also among the players who did not receive the franchise tag were Patriots safety Devin McCourty, Packers wide receiver Randall Cobb and Eagles wideout Jeremy Maclin. All three players will be among the most pursued at their positions and potentially headed for huge paydays outside their respective cities.

As for the players who were tagged, we'll learn in the coming months whether it was a stopgap solution or if these five guys will be proving themselves once more in 2015.

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter.

All moves are via NFL.com's Franchise Tag Tracker.