Tag It and Bag It: Tuesday Open Thread

Welcome, K-Mart shoppers, to another episode of Rev Has Strong Opinions on Areas He Knows Little About.

The Franchise/Transition Tag deadline has come and gone today. For those keeping track at home, the Toe Tag deadline is March 11, by which time teams have to cut enough salary (and usually veterans) to squeeze in under the salary cap.

Four players got some form of restriction placed on their impending free agency. As a reminder, the non-exclusive franchise tag entitles the tagging team to two first-round draft picks if someone else signs the player, while the transition tag entitles the tagging team to a chance to match an offer (with no compensation if they choose to let the guy walk). Teams and players have until the summer to agree on a multi-year deal or everyone gets stuck with the one year tag deal.

BREECE HALL (RB- NYJ): franchise tag, $14.2 million

Yeah, ok. The Jets have $74 million in cap space AFTER tagging Hall, and fuck-all to spend it on with Garrett Wilson already locked up and everyone else of value already traded. Hall is the only weapon the Jets have that does not require a decent quarterback. Barring a Daniel Jones-Sam Darnold-Geno Smith style miracle resurrection of a retread, the Jets will not have a decent quarterback, so keeping Hall was the bare minimum the team could do and still look like it was trying.

And no, there will be no miracle resurrections. Look at the list- the Meadowlands is the place where guys get resurrected from.

KYLE PITTS (TE-ATL) franchise tag worth $15 million.

I mean, different guys learn and mature at different rates. Week 15 of your fifth year is a little later than most #4 overall picks, but he was Huge and Fast and Strong at his pro day, and he had 166 yards and three touchdowns the day that one annoying prick in your fantasy league started him on a desperation flyer in the playoffs.

Yes, I was that prick. Suck it, Samwise.

The Falcons are in a very odd place. They are about to jettison Kirk Cousins, and an optimistic timeline puts Michael Penix back from his ACL tear about a week before the season starts.

With a new offense to learn.

With a(nother) bum knee and a playing style that needs mobility.

With questions already about whether he’s up to the job.

So with comparatively little cap space (this leaves the Falcons with about $6 million) and crying needs at both quarterback and offensive line, keeping Pitts is usually the sort of dubious double-down on an underperforming high draft pick you normally associate with a desperate GM hoping with a last throw of the dice not to get fired. Or the Giants. But this is a new regime, and new Football Czar Matt Ryan has no ties to Pitts other than overlapping Ryan’s last year playing in Atlanta. Curious move.

GEORGE PICKENS (WR-DAL) franchise tag, $27ish million

God, I love the toxic reactor that is Dallas. Jerrah and Co didn’t draft Pickens, but they are doing the double-down thing to try and salvage the ruinous gamble they made on ANOTHER player- Dak Prescott. Prescott cannot be cut this year- his dead cap number is more than the GDP of several small nations. But next year? A post-June 1 cut would save the Cowboys $45 million.

So Dallas has one season to figure out if the 33 year old Prescott is worth keeping. In Jerry’s head, that means giving him the splashiest players at the splashiest position so that he can either take credit if things go well or get righteously indignant at the quarterback when it doesn’t work out.

I GAVE YOU THE BEST BEEF IN THE WORLD, WHY DIDN’T YOU COOK AN AMAZING STEAK?!?

Because the only pans left in the kitchen had rusted through?

Anyway. I have no idea if Pickens is unhappy with this or not. Usually players are not, unless a long-term deal is imminent and this really is a formality. Pickens is another Pittsburgh Receiver Headcase, so I assume he would have spoken up if this really offends him.

DANIEL JONES (QB-IND) transition tag, $38 million

Jones isn’t coming back at all until late September-October, and (more than Penix) his game depends on his legs. So he’s unlikely to be Early Season 2025 Jones until mid November at the earliest, assuming he doesn’t revert to Most of His Career Jones entirely. Paying $38 million for half a season seems insane. Those are Dak Prescott rates.

Colts GM is trying to let the market set itself for Jones, because his value is so uncertain. That could end with some dumbfuck with lots of cap space (Jets), no intent to compete this year (Jets) and nothing to lose (Jets) taking a run at him and daring the Colts to roll with trade-seeking Anthony Richardson. Or maybe they sign Cousins as a younger, less talented Phillip Rivers?

LATE EDIT: All falls into place. Colts are going to sign Kyler Murray off his release by Arizona to a one year prove-it deal. Murray starts until the next Call of Duty is released, which is usually late October or early November- just in time for Jones to take the reins.