Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2021 Free Agency: Franchise Tag Deadline Day

Unless a last-minute postponement arises, today is the last day that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and NFL teams can place the franchise and transition tags on impending 2021 free agents.

Barring a last-minute postponement which has been hinted at via a report from Dan Graziano of ESPN, the NFL's franchise and transition tag deadline arrives this afternoon at 4 P.M. ET.

The window to utilize one of the tags opened on Feb. 23, but so far, just three teams have done so: The Denver Broncos franchise-tagged safety Justin Simmons, the New York Jets franchise-tagged safety Marcus Maye, and the Washington Football Team franchise-tagged offensive lineman Brandon Scherff.

Update: Three more teams have utilized the tag since this story was posted: The Carolina Panthers franchise-tagged offensive tackle Taylor Moton and the New York Giants franchise-tagged defensive lineman Leonard Williams. The Dallas Cowboys also procedurally tagged quarterback Dak Prescott, with a mega extension in place.

Perhaps that can be blamed on the lack of a set, confirmed salary cap limit for the 2021 season to this point, which will be the determining factor regarding if the deadline is pushed back. Although tags account for a one-year contract, most players will earn over $10 million in that season on such a deal, particularly the franchise tag.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have not made any plans clear regarding the tag, but such a tool could be of service this offseason as the team is scheduled to have 30 players hit the market on March 17th as of now. It won't be possible to keep everybody, but applying the tag to the correct player could provide some cap savings for now and provide an opportunity to give that player a long-term extension later.

The Buccaneers have two realistic candidates for the tag, both of which would presumably earn the franchise label instead of transition: Wide receiver Chris Godwin and outside linebacker Shaquil Barrett. You can read a more detailed breakdown of their arguments for and against a tag this year here, but long story short, Godwin would make more sense than Barrett as the latter was tagged last offseason,  and is determined to sign a long-term contract this spring.

Godwin has yet to sign a second contract at this point in his career and his projected salary on the franchise tag in 2021 (~$16.5 million) would nearly quadruple his career earnings to date ($4.6 million). Tampa Bay is reportedly heading toward placing the tag on Godwin, per ESPN, but that has not been finalized. 

Whether the tag deadline remains today or gets pushed back, the Buccaneers are certainly a team to watch as numerous franchises contemplate their options with the tags. 

Stay tuned to AllBucs for updates on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers free agency and more.