Bengals Don't Use Franchise Tag, Carl Lawson and William Jackson Set to Hit Free Agency

This was a surprising move by the Bengals

CINCINNATI — The franchise tag deadline came and went on Tuesday afternoon. The Bengals didn't use it, even though they were expected to place the tag on defensive end Carl Lawson or cornerback William Jackson III. 

Instead, they have until Monday, March 15 to negotiate long-term contracts with both players. If they can't get a deal done, then both Lawson and Jackson will become free agents. 

"Right now we’re doing a deep dive onto what it might take to get guys signed, both our own guys and out there guys and how best to attack it to get the biggest bang for our buck," Bengals Director of Player Personnel Duke Tobin said on Tuesday. "They’re guys that we developed, we found, we groomed. They’ve blossomed. I think there’s a lot of interest around the league and we’ll certainly compete and try to get them back. That’s been what our focus historically has been, is we want to keep good players that come in here and develop that are Bengals. We’ll see what we can get done here as free agency kicks off.”

Tobin didn't rule out using the franchise tag on Monday, but they didn't use it for a reason. 

Maybe the team is close to signing Lawson and/or Jackson to a long-term extension. Maybe they've decided to use their $42+ million in cap space on outside free agents.

Letting Lawson and Jackson test free agency is risky. Both players should generate a lot of interest from other teams across the league.  

If they plan on keeping either player, then using the tag would've been much safer than allowing both players to hit the market. 

Tobin said the Bengals planned on being aggressive this offseason. Not tagging Lawson or Jackson is an interesting strategy. 

It gives them more cap space to use in other areas, but losing two key pieces of a defense that struggled for most of 2020 would be a big blow to a team that's expected to take multiple steps forward this season. 

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