Should the Titans Use the Franchise Tag?

The NFL’s Franchise Tag window opens today and the Titans have a few free agents they may consider using a tag on before they hit free agency, but doing so appears unlikely.

NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Titans, as of today, have the ability to place the franchise tag or transition tag on any player who is set to become a free agent. They have until March 7 to decide as that is the deadline to use your tag. The Titans have used the tag before, on Derrick Henry in 2020, but don’t expect them to use either tag this offseason.

There are three kinds of tags in the NFL. The Exclusive Franchise Tag, the Non-Exclusive Franchise Tag and the Transition Tag. For both Franchise Tags, the player get a one-year deal worth the average of the top five salaries at their position over the last five years(or 120% of their previous salary, whichever is more).

The difference is with the exclusive tag, no other teams are allowed to negotiate with the player where the non-exclusive tag allows other team’s to offer the player and the incumbent team gets a chance to match. If the incumbent team does not match, the team that signs the player has to give two first round picks to the team losing the player.

With the transition tag, the one-year salary is an average of the top ten at any position(so lower money than a franchise tag), but other teams can negotiate with the player and if the incumbent team doesn’t match an offer, no picks are awarded. The transition tag is less expensive for the team, but it’s also riskier and easier to lose the player for nothing. Salary amounts for the tags are in the tweet below.

With the 2023 salary cap set at $224.8 million per club, the nonexclusive franchise and transition tag numbers are now set as well. pic.twitter.com/QRcOpLXbQZ

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 30, 2023

Looking at the salary amounts and the players who could even be candidates for the Titans make it obvious they will not be using either tag in Nashville this offseason. There are only two real candidates, guard Nate Davis and linebacker David Long. While both are solid players in their own right, neither would be worth what they would get on the tag.

Per Spotrac, Nate Davis is projected to receive around $7 million a season on a three-year deal. Per Pro Football Focus, Davis is looking at about $7.5 million a season over four years. Whichever you decide is more valid doesn’t matter because neither are close to the $18.2 million or $16.6 million the two tags are set for. With that being the case, very unlikely that Davis sees the tag.

As for David Long, there is a much bigger discrepancy in estimated contract depending on the site. Spotrac has Long at $4.9 million a season for two years, but Pro Football Focus has Long at $13.75 million for four seasons. That is a monster difference and the only logical answer is somewhere in the middle. Either way, the franchise tag is worth $20.9 million and the transition tag is worth $17.4 million. David Long isn’t getting that from the Titans with his injury history.

One other major downside to the tags is, if the players does play out the season on a tag, there is no way to structure the money to lessen the cap hit. What the player plays for is their cap hit. On the flipside, if the Titans sign these players back to long term deals, they will be able to include bonus money that keeps salary low and, in turn, keeps the hit on the salary cap low.

With both players not being worth the amounts the tags are for and the downside of the cap situation, it would only be prudent to expect the Titans to keep the tag in their pocket this year and see how things play out. The Titans are most likely more interested in some players around the NFL who may get tagged and waiting to see if for some reason they don’t. Like a Lamar Jackson or Orlando Brown, for example.

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