Tag, You’re It! NFL Franchise Tag Window Opens Tuesday

There is usually at least a half-dozen or more franchise tag candidates league-wide in any given NFL offseason.

This year, there are around that amount, including one that hits very close to home in Vikings Quarterback Sam Darnold.

The NFL's Franchise Tag window officially opens on Tuesday, which will be the earliest possible time that a team can tag an impending internal free agent.

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In the past, players would play on the tag for a year at a time, but lately, that has been far less common. Last season, just one player actually signed and played on the one-year tag: Bengals Wide Receiver Tee Higgins. There was a total of nine tags used.

Every other player was either tagged and traded to a new team or signed a new contract with the team that applied the tag.

More often than not these days, the tag is just a play for time for the team to either drum up trade interest or get some additional days to negotiate a new deal.

Here are some notable franchise tag candidates leaguewide: Sam Darnold, Jevon Holland, Tee Higgins, Trey Smith, and Tre'Von Moehrig.

Here's what ESPN had to say about the Vikings and Sam Darnold:

Using the tag on quarterback Sam Darnold would be an expensive way of ensuring his return while avoiding a longer-term commitment that would hinder J.J. McCarthy's eventual ascension. It could also be a way to elicit additional value by way of a trade, but that would require a knowledge that multiple teams would be willing to bid. In the end, the Vikings seem more likely to let Darnold sign elsewhere and preserve their tag for a player such as cornerback Byron Murphy Jr., who had a career-high six interceptions in 2024 and is hitting his prime at age 27. If nothing else, it would give the Vikings time to sign Murphy to a longer-term deal while keeping him off the market. -- Kevin Seifert

Source: ESPN.com