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As the NFL truly enters offseason mode, teams across the league are starting their preparations for the 2022 season, and Tuesday is a significant day for many teams across the league for a specific reason.
Starting tomorrow and until March 8, teams can apply the franchise or transition tag on a player with an expiring contract.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) February 21, 2022
7 players were tagged last offseason. Davante Adams, Jessie Bates and Orlando Brown are among the candidates for it this year.
With the window for teams to apply the franchise or transition tags now open, the debate can start regarding whether or not each team will use either of the tags. And, if they do, which player will have the tag applied.
The Seattle Seahawks, of course, have several players set to be unrestricted free agents who will be eligible for either the franchise or transition tag. However, it’s debatable as to whether any of those players are worth the salary that comes with such a tag. The members of the roster who will become unrestricted free agents, along with the amount it would cost to apply either of the tags, are laid out in the following table.
Franchise and Transition Tag amounts for soon to be free agent Seahawks
| Player | Franchise Tag | Transition Tag |
|---|---|---|
| Player | Franchise Tag | Transition Tag |
| Jamarco Jones | $16,698,000 | $14,997,000 |
| D.J. Reed | $17,295,000 | $14,904,000 |
| Will Dissly | $10,834,000 | $9,332,000 |
| Rasheem Green | $20,186,000 | $16,623,000 |
| Robert Nkemdiche | $16,888,000 | $13,596,000 |
| Alex Collins | $12,536,000 | $10,148,000 |
| Geno Smith | $28,598,000 | $25,651,000 |
| Sidney Jones | $17,295,000 | $14,904,000 |
| Al Woods | $16,888,000 | $13,596,000 |
| Rashaad Penny | $12,536,000 | $10,148,000 |
| Ethan Pocic | $16,698,000 | $14,997,000 |
| Brandon Shell | $16,698,000 | $14,997,000 |
| Gerald Everett | $10,834,000 | $9,332,000 |
| Quandre Diggs | $13,544,000 | $11,265,000 |
| Duane Brown | $16,698,000 | $14,997,000 |
Most of the players on that list, such as Jamarco Jones, Brandon Shell, Rasheem Green, Geno Smith and others are obviously not about to have either of the tags placed on them for their services on the field. It’s unlikely that even the top three free agents in D.J. Reed, Quandre Diggs and Duane Brown receive the franchise tag, though it is not impossible.
In theory, there is an outside chance that one of these three players could have the transition tag applied. While the franchise tag effectively ends negotiations with other teams for players, the transition tag does nothing to prevent players from negotiating with other teams. The only thing a transition tag does is allow a team the right to match any offer sheet the player signs with another team, meaning the player gets to negotiate the best available deal in the market, and if the Seahawks find that deal palatable, they can choose to match the offer.
That, of course, brings the discussion to whether or not these players would be worth tying up the cap space necessary to use one of the tags, as the tag amount would count against the 2022 cap as soon as the new league year start on March 16.
Thus, while there may be more than six months until the start of the season in September, there will be a lot taking place over the next month that will impact how the season will unfold.
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