Advertisement

Reports: Justin Houston, Demaryius Thomas among franchise tags

Frank Schwab
·NFL writer

The Kansas City Chiefs weren't letting a 26-year-old coming off a 22-sack season reach free agency. So Justin Houston will get the franchise tag.

The Broncos felt the same way about receiver Demaryius Thomas. He'll get the franchise tag too, the Denver Post's Mike Klis reported. ESPN's Adam Schefter was first with the Houston news. Yahoo Sports' Rand Getlin said that the New York Giants decided to tag defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul. Tim Twentyman of the Detroit Lions' official site reported the team will not use the franchise tag on Ndamukong Suh, which isn't unexpected since Suh would have cost almost $27 million to tag.

The New England Patriots made an interesting decision with their franchise tag. Instead of using it on safety Devin McCourty, as many figured they would, they instead used it on kicker Stephen Gostkowski. That's a defensible decision too, because Gostkowski is arguably the best kicker in the NFL. He hit 94.6 percent of his field-goal attempts last season.

It has been previously reported that the Dallas Cowboys expect to tag receiver Dez Bryant. In addition, the Miami Dolphins used the transition tag for tight end Charles Clay, for a little more than $7 million. The deadline to use franchise or transition tags is 4 p.m. Eastern time on Monday.

In Thomas' case, and likely in Houston's case and the others who will be tagged as well, they're expected to get the non-exclusive tag. That means teams can sign them away at the price of two first-round picks. That sounds like a massive price, and it is, but maybe it shouldn't be viewed that way (aside from the fact that the NFL clearly has an unspoken understanding that messing with someone else's restricted free agents or franchise players will be looked down upon).

Would a team consistently picking near the bottom of the draft who had cap room really be that unwise to give up two first-round picks for someone like Houston? If Houston was in this draft somehow, he'd be a top-five pick without question. He has made three Pro Bowls in four NFL seasons. All-Pro pass rushers who have plenty of prime years left don't become available often. That's probably why the Chiefs would match any offer anyway, which is their right with Houston as a franchise-tagged player. The same could said for a team like the Seattle Seahawks and the franchised receivers. Assuming the Seahawks could fit a Bryant or Thomas under the cap, wouldn't one of those elite receivers do more for them than any two late first-round picks would?

The point of the franchise tag is that it virtually guarantees you'll keep that player. It'll be interesting to see if an NFL team ever tries to pry one away.

- - - - - - -

Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdowncorner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!