Matt Flynn, Vincent Jackson and Cortland Finnegan can officially prepare to become free agents.
Monday was the deadline to designate a player with the franchise tag. Flynn, Jackson, and Finnegan all escaped the tag and will hit the open market when free agency begins March 13.
Marques Colston hits the free-agent market as the best wide receiver available, but not the only one. (AP Photo)Here’s a broader look at who was tagged, who wasn’t, and the ramifications for free agency:
Cortland Finnegan, Tennessee Titans, CB: With the Titans deciding to protect Griffin, it left them no options with Finnegan, a physical corner who will get a sweet deal in free agency.
Matt Flynn, Green Bay Packers, QB: The Packers could not afford to franchise him as a backup. Some quarterback-needy team will pay him handsomely to be their starter.
Vincent Jackson, San Diego Chargers, WR: The Chargers hope Jackson is willing to give them a hometown discount. If not, he’ll have plenty of offers.
Brandon Lloyd, St. Louis Rams, WR: The Rams are likely to trade the No. 2 pick, and will have cap room and draft picks to retool their roster. That made Lloyd expendable, and maybe the Patriots will be interested.
Carl Nicks, New Orleans Saints, G: Tagging Brees means the Saints had to let Nicks test the free-agent waters.
Mario Williams, Houston Texans, LB: It would have cost the Texans about $22 million to franchise him. As an elite pass rusher, Williams will get a huge deal in free agency.
Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints: It’s going to take huge dollars to sign Brees, and the Saints have not met his price. Obviously, the Saints were not going to let Brees hit the open market. But Brees can't be happy with the failure to get a long-term deal done. Now neither guard Carl Nicks nor wide receiver Marques Colston can be tagged, meaning they could be lost during free agency.
Meanwhile, the fallout from the bounty scandal could bring lengthy suspensions for coach Sean Payton and general manager Mickey Loomis. The Saints are having a tough week.
Running backs
Matt Forte, Chicago Bears: New GM Phil Emery won’t rush to give Forte the long-term deal deserves. Instead, Forte will make about $7.7 million, and hope to gain leverage with another stellar season. Some NFL teams treat running backs almost like lease cars—use up their mileage and replace them with a newer model.
Ray Rice, Baltimore Ravens: The Ravens will still try to get the NFL’s leader in yards from scrimmage signed to a long-term deal. Rice is being patient, and barring injury, he will eventually be rewarded. The Ravens have a history of locking up top players.
Wide receivers
Dwayne Bowe, Kansas City Chiefs: He's their best wide receiver, and he would have been coveted on the open market. The Chiefs could have also franchised cornerback Brandon Carr, but they will try to sign him to a long-term deal with Bowe safely in the fold.
DeSean Jackson, Philadelphia Eagles: Jackson got far more money, a jump from $600,000 to about $9.4 million. The Eagles got more time to decide whether to keep or trade their explosive, but smallish playmaker.
Wes Welker, New England Patriots: Nobody has more catches than Welker (554) since 2007, and losing him would leave a void in the Patriots’ offense. However, Welker and the Patriots have been unable to agree on a deal, so the Patriots had to keep Welker from walking.
Tight ends
Fred Davis, Washington Redskins: This team is already short on playmakers. Keeping Davis for about $5.4 million was a must.
Defensive ends
Cliff Avril, Detroit Lions: At about $10.6 million, he was expensive to tag. But Avril had 11 sacks and six forced fumbles in 2011. Pass-rushers are precious.
Calais Campbell, Arizona Cardinals: They still hope to sign Campbell to a long-term deal, and he wasn’t very upset about being franchised. So this was a win-win.
Cornerbacks
Brent Grimes, Atlanta Falcons: The Falcons kept their best corner for at least another season at about $10.6 million. If only they could get their other high-priced corner, Dunta Robinson, to play better.
Linebackers
Anthony Spencer, Dallas Cowboys: He’s not DeMarcus Ware, but Spencer is an integral part of their defense. The Cowboys decided it was better to pay him $8.8 million than to try filling the void.
Safeties
Tyvon Branch, Oakland Raiders: The Raiders could not afford to lose another piece of their secondary after cutting cornerback Stanford Routt last month. This keeps their leading tackler off the open market.
Dashon Goldson, San Francisco 49ers: The 49ers were not going to let a key player on a terrific defense hit the open market. Tagging Goldson for about $6.2 million was cheaper than it would have been to tag two other free agents—cornerback Carlos Rogers or quarterback Alex Smith.
Michael Griffin, Tennessee Titans: A steady player at a position where the Titans have need, Griffin is too valuable to let walk away. At age 27, Griffin is still playing at a high level.
Kickers
Phil Dawson, Cleveland Browns: They will keep a reliable kicker that has been with them since 1999, and who still has 50-yard range. Franchised for the second straight year, Dawson stands to earn about $3.81 million.
Mike Nugent, Cincinnati Bengals: Nugent put 67 of his 80 kickoffs into the end zone last season, helping the Bengals’ special teams and defense. That’s an element the Bengals wanted to keep for about $2.7 million.
Matt Prater, Denver Broncos: A proven clutch kicker, Prater has one of the league’s strongest legs. Franchising him was a bargain for the Broncos.
Josh Scobee, Jacksonville Jaguars: Scobee was a huge part of the team’s offense. Now the Jaguars need to upgrade their offense to give Scobee a chance at more extra points.
Connor Barth, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The Bucs had not used the tag since 2009, but they thought protecting their 25-year-old kicker was worth it. Barth made 26 of 28 field goals last season.
Punters
Steve Weatherford, New York Giants: He would have made more as a free agent than the $2.6 million franchise deal. However, this gives the Giants and Weatherford time to hash out a long-term agreement.
Brees was designated an "exclusive" franchise player and thus is not free to sign with another team.
A non-exclusive franchise player is permitted to negotiate a contract with any team. If he signs, his previous team will receive compensation of two first-round picks.
Monday was the deadline to designate a player with the franchise tag. Flynn, Jackson, and Finnegan all escaped the tag and will hit the open market when free agency begins March 13.
Marques Colston hits the free-agent market as the best wide receiver available, but not the only one. (AP Photo)Ready to hit the market
Marques Colston, New Orleans Saints, WR: The Saints may have enough offensive weapons to withstand Colston’s loss, but he will be coveted.Cortland Finnegan, Tennessee Titans, CB: With the Titans deciding to protect Griffin, it left them no options with Finnegan, a physical corner who will get a sweet deal in free agency.
Matt Flynn, Green Bay Packers, QB: The Packers could not afford to franchise him as a backup. Some quarterback-needy team will pay him handsomely to be their starter.
Vincent Jackson, San Diego Chargers, WR: The Chargers hope Jackson is willing to give them a hometown discount. If not, he’ll have plenty of offers.
Brandon Lloyd, St. Louis Rams, WR: The Rams are likely to trade the No. 2 pick, and will have cap room and draft picks to retool their roster. That made Lloyd expendable, and maybe the Patriots will be interested.
Carl Nicks, New Orleans Saints, G: Tagging Brees means the Saints had to let Nicks test the free-agent waters.
Mario Williams, Houston Texans, LB: It would have cost the Texans about $22 million to franchise him. As an elite pass rusher, Williams will get a huge deal in free agency.
Why these guys were tagged
QuarterbacksDrew Brees, New Orleans Saints: It’s going to take huge dollars to sign Brees, and the Saints have not met his price. Obviously, the Saints were not going to let Brees hit the open market. But Brees can't be happy with the failure to get a long-term deal done. Now neither guard Carl Nicks nor wide receiver Marques Colston can be tagged, meaning they could be lost during free agency.
Meanwhile, the fallout from the bounty scandal could bring lengthy suspensions for coach Sean Payton and general manager Mickey Loomis. The Saints are having a tough week.
Running backs
Matt Forte, Chicago Bears: New GM Phil Emery won’t rush to give Forte the long-term deal deserves. Instead, Forte will make about $7.7 million, and hope to gain leverage with another stellar season. Some NFL teams treat running backs almost like lease cars—use up their mileage and replace them with a newer model.
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Wide receivers
Dwayne Bowe, Kansas City Chiefs: He's their best wide receiver, and he would have been coveted on the open market. The Chiefs could have also franchised cornerback Brandon Carr, but they will try to sign him to a long-term deal with Bowe safely in the fold.
DeSean Jackson, Philadelphia Eagles: Jackson got far more money, a jump from $600,000 to about $9.4 million. The Eagles got more time to decide whether to keep or trade their explosive, but smallish playmaker.
Wes Welker, New England Patriots: Nobody has more catches than Welker (554) since 2007, and losing him would leave a void in the Patriots’ offense. However, Welker and the Patriots have been unable to agree on a deal, so the Patriots had to keep Welker from walking.
Tight ends
Fred Davis, Washington Redskins: This team is already short on playmakers. Keeping Davis for about $5.4 million was a must.
Defensive ends
Cliff Avril, Detroit Lions: At about $10.6 million, he was expensive to tag. But Avril had 11 sacks and six forced fumbles in 2011. Pass-rushers are precious.
Calais Campbell, Arizona Cardinals: They still hope to sign Campbell to a long-term deal, and he wasn’t very upset about being franchised. So this was a win-win.
Cornerbacks
Brent Grimes, Atlanta Falcons: The Falcons kept their best corner for at least another season at about $10.6 million. If only they could get their other high-priced corner, Dunta Robinson, to play better.
Linebackers
Anthony Spencer, Dallas Cowboys: He’s not DeMarcus Ware, but Spencer is an integral part of their defense. The Cowboys decided it was better to pay him $8.8 million than to try filling the void.
Safeties
Tyvon Branch, Oakland Raiders: The Raiders could not afford to lose another piece of their secondary after cutting cornerback Stanford Routt last month. This keeps their leading tackler off the open market.
Dashon Goldson, San Francisco 49ers: The 49ers were not going to let a key player on a terrific defense hit the open market. Tagging Goldson for about $6.2 million was cheaper than it would have been to tag two other free agents—cornerback Carlos Rogers or quarterback Alex Smith.
Michael Griffin, Tennessee Titans: A steady player at a position where the Titans have need, Griffin is too valuable to let walk away. At age 27, Griffin is still playing at a high level.
Kickers
Phil Dawson, Cleveland Browns: They will keep a reliable kicker that has been with them since 1999, and who still has 50-yard range. Franchised for the second straight year, Dawson stands to earn about $3.81 million.
Mike Nugent, Cincinnati Bengals: Nugent put 67 of his 80 kickoffs into the end zone last season, helping the Bengals’ special teams and defense. That’s an element the Bengals wanted to keep for about $2.7 million.
Matt Prater, Denver Broncos: A proven clutch kicker, Prater has one of the league’s strongest legs. Franchising him was a bargain for the Broncos.
Josh Scobee, Jacksonville Jaguars: Scobee was a huge part of the team’s offense. Now the Jaguars need to upgrade their offense to give Scobee a chance at more extra points.
Connor Barth, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The Bucs had not used the tag since 2009, but they thought protecting their 25-year-old kicker was worth it. Barth made 26 of 28 field goals last season.
Punters
Steve Weatherford, New York Giants: He would have made more as a free agent than the $2.6 million franchise deal. However, this gives the Giants and Weatherford time to hash out a long-term agreement.
Note
Not every team designated a franchise player.Brees was designated an "exclusive" franchise player and thus is not free to sign with another team.
A non-exclusive franchise player is permitted to negotiate a contract with any team. If he signs, his previous team will receive compensation of two first-round picks.
