Wednesday afternoon the NFL announced the list of players who had been placed the franchise tag list. With the NFL free agency signing period set to begin on March 7 at 1 p.m. PT, teams around the league needed to designate franchise or transition players by Wednesday afternoon at 1 p.m. PT, the Oakland Raiders did not tag anyone.
For those who are unaware of the tag's significance, here's an in-depth description:
- The exclusive franchise tag is a one-year tender offer to a player for an amount no less than the average of the top five salaries at the player's position, or 120 percent of the player's previous salary, whichever is greater. The player's team has all negotiating rights to the player.
- The non-exclusive franchise tag is a one-year tender offer to a player for an amount no less than the average of the top five salaries at the player's position, or 120 percent of the player's previous salary, whichever is greater. The player can negotiate with other teams. The player's current team has the right to match any offer, or receive two first-round picks as compensation.
- The transition tag is a one-year tender offer to a player for an amount that is the average of the top 10 salaries at the position. It guarantees the original club the right of first refusal to match any offer the player may receive from another team. The transition tag can only be used if the franchise tag is not used by a team in that year. Transition tags can be rescinded, but teams that rescind a transition tag cannot use it again until next season.
Here's the list of players who were placed with a franchise tag: (* indicates Exclusive Franchise Player)
| Position | Player | Team |
| LB | Chandler Jones | Arizona Cardinals |
| DT | Kawann Short | Carolina Panthers |
| LB | Melvin Ingram | Los Angeles Chargers |
| CB | Trumaine Johnson | Los Angeles Rams |
| DE | Jason Pierre-Paul | New York Giants |
| RB | Le'Veon Bell | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| QB | Kirk Cousins | Washington Redskins |
