Three players were designated non-exclusive franchise players by Monday’s deadline, adding to the five that received tags Friday, but all are permitted to field offers from other suitors in free agency.
Two offensive tackles, two defensive tackles, a defensive end, linebacker, punter and safety were tagged before the 4 p.m. ET deadline. No player was named an exclusive franchise player, which would have prohibited other teams from negotiating with that player. Last offseason, the New Orleans Saints used the exclusive franchise tag to retain quarterback Drew Brees.
Free agency begins at 4 p.m. ET March 12, when all eight players named franchise players have limited unrestricted free agent rights. They can visit with and field offer sheets from other teams.
However, the non-exclusive franchise designation is prohibitive in that it acts as a refusal rights option for their current team. The non-exclusive tag mandates that any team signing a franchise player must forfeit two first-round picks to his current team to complete the transaction if the original doesn’t match the offer.
Here are the eight players who were tagged on the one-year tender. Dallas linebacker Anthony Spencer’s tender is higher than the $9.619 million tag for linebackers because he played last season for the franchise tender of $8.856 million. Being tagged again means a 20 percent increase over last year’s tender.
Buffalo Bills Jairus Byrd S $6.916 million
Chicago Bears Henry Melton DT $8.45 million
Cincinnati Bengals Michael Johnson DE $11.175 million
Dallas Cowboys Anthony Spencer LB $10.627 million
Denver Broncos Ryan Clady OT $9.828 million
Indianapolis Colts Pat McAfee P $2.977 million
Kansas City Chiefs Branden Albert OT $9.828 million
Miami Dolphins Randy Starks DT $8.45 million
Franchise players weren’t the only ones making news Monday. As expected, quarterback Joe Flacco officially signed his six-year, $120.6 million contract with the Baltimore Ravens that makes him, for now, the highest paid player in league history.
“It wasn’t necessarily about the money,” Flacco said. “It was, at that point, about earning that respect and feeling like I was respected around here. The fact that they have made me that definitely makes me feel good about how I played and how they feel about me.”
Meanwhile, at the same time they were tendering Albert as a franchise player, the Chiefs signed wide receiver Dwayne Bowe and punter Dustin Colquitt to five-year contracts to keep them becoming unrestricted free agents.
Said new Chiefs general manager John Dorsey, “When we first arrived, one of the first items on our agenda was signing Dwayne. He’s been a key player on our offense and is one of the premier players at his position. We are pleased that Dwayne will be a member of this team for years to come.”
Indianapolis signed defensive tackle Fili Moala, who was scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent. The Cowboys terminated the contract of safety Gerald Sensabaugh.
Following is a position-by-position look at the top players available at each position with the franchise and transition tags in parentheses.
Quarterbacks ($14.896/$13.068 million)
Matt Moore, Miami
Matt Cassel, Kansas City (expected to be released)
Jason Campbell, Chicago
Drew Stanton, Indianapolis
Matt Leinart, Oakland
Running Backs ($8.219/$6.970 million)
Steven Jackson, St. Louis (expected to void contract by March 12)
Reggie Bush, Miami
Shonn Greene, N.Y. Jets
Rashard Mendenhall, Pittsburgh
Cedric Benson, Green Bay
Ahmad Bradshaw (released by Giants)
Best of the rest: Michael Turner (released by Falcons); Felix Jones, Dallas; LaRod Stephens-Howling, Arizona
Wide Receivers ($10.537/$8.867 million)
Mike Wallace, Pittsburgh
Greg Jennings, Green Bay
Wes Welker, New England
Devery Henderson, New Orleans
Best of the rest: Jerome Simpson, Minnesota; Danny Amendola, St. Louis; Steve Breaston (released by Chiefs); Ted Ginn, San Francisco; Joshua Cribbs, Cleveland
Tight Ends ($6.066/$5.194 million)
Tony Gonzalez, Atlanta (expected to retire)
Dustin Keller, N.Y. Jets
Fred Davis, Washington
Delanie Walker, San Francisco
Martellus Bennett, N.Y. Giants
Best of the rest: Jared Cook, Tennessee; Anthony Fasano, Miami; James, Casey, Houston; David Thomas (released by Saints)
Tackles ($9.828/$8.709 million)
Ryan Clady, Denver (franchised)
Jake Long, Miami
Branden Albert, Kansas City (franchised)
Andre Smith, Cincinnati
Sebastian Vollmer, New England
Best of the rest: Phil Loadholt, Minnesota; Gosder Cherilus, Detroit; Sam Baker, Atlanta; Jermon Bushrod, New Orleans; Bryant McKinnie, Baltimore; Winston Justice, Indianapolis
Guards ($9.828/$8.709 million)
Andy Levitre, Buffalo
Brandon Moore, N.Y. Jets
Kory Lichtensteiger, Washington
Lance Louis, Chicago
Louis Vasquez, San Diego
Best of the rest: Stephen Peterman (released by Lions); Ramon Foster, Pittsburgh; Kevin Boothe, N.Y. Giants
Defensive Ends ($11.175/$9.151 million)
Michael Bennett, Tampa Bay
Michael Johnson, Cincinnati (franchised)
Cliff Avril, Detroit
Osi Umenyiora, N.Y. Giants
John Abraham (released by Falcons)
Best of the rest: Robert Geathers, Cincinnati; Kyle Vanden Bosch (released by Lions); Israel Idonije, Chicago
Defensive Tackles ($8.45/$7.039 million)
Henry Melton, Chicago (franchised)
Randy Starks, Miami (franchised)
Chris Canty, (released by Giants)
Sammie Lee Hill, Detroit
Corey Williams, Detroit
Best of the rest: Cullen Jenkins (released by Eagles); Sedrick Ellis, New Orleans
Outside Linebackers ($9.619/$8.358 million)
Anthony Spencer (DE), Dallas (franchised)
Paul Kruger (DE), Baltimore
Dwight Freeney (DE), Indianapolis
Shaun Phillips, San Diego
Connor Barwin, Houston
Best of the rest: Calvin Pace (released by Jets); Michael Boley (released by Giants); Erik Walden, Green Bay
Inside Linebackers ($9.619/$8.358 million)
Dannell Ellerbe, Baltimore
DeAndre Levy (OLB), Detroit
Scott Shanle, New Orleans
Rey Maualuga, Cincinnati
Brian Urlacher, Chicago
Best of the rest: Bart Scott (released by Jets); Stewart Bradley (released by Cardinals)
Cornerbacks ($10.854/$9.095 million)
Brent Grimes, Atlanta
Sean Smith, Miami
Mike Jenkins, Dallas
Derek Cox, Jacksonville
Cary Williams, Baltimore
Best of the rest: Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Philadelphia; Dunta Robinson (released by Falcons); Bradley Fletcher, St. Louis; Chris Houston, Detroit; Leodis McKelvin, Buffalo; Aqib Talib, New England; Nate Clements, Cincinnati
Safeties ($6.916/$6.002 million)
Dashon Goldson, San Francisco
Jairus Byrd, Buffalo (franchised)
William Moore, Atlanta
Glover Quin, Houston
Ed Reed, Baltimore
Best of the rest: Louis Delmas, Detroit; Kenny Phillips, N.Y. Giants; Corey Lynch, San Diego; LaRon Landry, N.Y. Jets; Eric Smith (released by Jets)
Kickers ($2.977 million)
Phil Dawson, Cleveland
Josh Brown, Cincinnati
Lawrence Tynes, N.Y. Giants
Jason Hanson, Detroit
Nick Folk, N.Y. Jets
Punters ($2.977 million)
Shane Lechler, Oakland
Donnie Jones, Houston
Kevin Huber, Cincinnati
Pat McAfee, Indianapolis (franchised)