Franchise tag opens: Bengals?

[TecmoBengals]

The franchise tag window opens today: https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-franchise-tag-window-opens-today-lamar-jackson-orlando-brown-among-candidate.

Who do we anticipate the Bengals tagging, if anyone?

[BengalsBong]

We do not need to force anyone to stay most of the people we have tagged do not play up to their potential of top 5 players at the position so why pay them top 5 money.

We are a team that players should want to play for AFC championship game 2 years in a row and a shot at a SB ring. Should be incentive enough to sign or re-sign here if we still want the player.

[Luvnit2]

(02-21-2023, 11:10 AM)TecmoBengals Wrote: The franchise tag window opens today: https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-franchise-tag-window-opens-today-lamar-jackson-orlando-brown-among-candidate.

Who do we anticipate the Bengals tagging, if anyone?

I don't see us tagging anyone in 2023. It shocks me all LB's are in one group and tag is 20 million. I am not sure why the pass rushing LB's are not in their own group.

[*ochocincos*]

No one on the Bengals is worth the tag, IMO.

[WeezyBengal]

I truly don't get why we wouldn't tag Bates if we tagged him last year.

He would prob be pissed and want to force his way out...but too bad.

[BengalsBong]

(02-21-2023, 11:33 AM)WeezyBengal Wrote: I truly don't get why we wouldn't tag Bates if we tagged him last year.

He would prob be pissed and want to force his way out...but too bad.

Easy pass. Don't want him on this team.

[XenoMorph]

(02-21-2023, 11:33 AM)WeezyBengal Wrote: I truly don't get why we wouldn't tag Bates if we tagged him last year.

He would prob be pissed and want to force his way out...but too bad.

20% raise is why


Based on This list

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/cincinnati-bengals/

And These prices

https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/sports/nfl-franchise-tag-what-you-need-to-know/2908436/

i do not see any tags being used by the Bengals this offseason

[Clark W Griswold]

(02-21-2023, 11:49 AM)XenoMorph Wrote: 20% raise is why

True - they also have to figure out the Burrow/Higgins extensions so the $ won’t be there for him this year.

[XenoMorph]

(02-21-2023, 11:52 AM)Clark W Griswold Wrote: True - they also have to figure out the Burrow/Higgins extensions so the $ won’t be there for him this year.

Well this year they pick up burrows 5th year.   And work on the long term...  Higgins will be interesting

[WeezyBengal]

(02-21-2023, 11:37 AM)BengalsBong Wrote: Easy pass. Don't want him on this team.

Why? 

[WeezyBengal]

(02-21-2023, 11:52 AM)Clark W Griswold Wrote: True - they also have to figure out the Burrow/Higgins extensions so the $ won’t be there for him this year.

Why would the money not be there for him this year? They have a ton of cap space and can free up more doing some roster restructures/cuts. 

[Graphicguy]

No Tags this year.

Bates tag would price himself out of the Bengals market. Someone will give him stupid money. Like him, but other, more important priorities for this team (i.e. Higgins, Burrow extensions). Plus, this is the exact reason we drafted Dax.

[WeezyBengal]

(02-21-2023, 01:01 PM)Graphicguy Wrote: No Tags this year.

Bates tag would price himself out of the Bengals market.  Someone will give him stupid money.  Like him, but other, more important priorities for this team (i.e. Higgins, Burrow extensions).  Plus, this is the exact reason we drafted Dax.

This team currently doesn't have a starting safety from last year on the team. 

They can more than afford to franchise Bates this year. Pair him with Dax for a year. 

[CJD]

None of their free agents are worth the tag for their respective position, so I don't expect the Bengals to utilize it this year.

I was tempted to say Pratt, but then I realized that, when it comes to the franchise tag, "Linebacker" is not just for off ball linebackers but, rather, ALL linebackers, including the pass rushers in 3-4 schemes like TJ Watt and Joey Bosa that are actually edge defenders/pass rushers.

The funny thing is defensive end actually has a lower franchise tag number (19.727M) than linebacker right now (20.926M).

Pratt is not worth 20.926 Million dollars, so obviously that's not going to happen.

I don't know exactly how they calculate the franchise tag number (Do they use the top 5 cap hits? The top 5 base salaries? The top 5 AAVs? The top 5 total cash values? I can't get 20.926M using any of those metrics), but odds are the "off ball linebacker" franchise tag would have been somewhere in the range of ~14.2M (top 5 base salaries was the closest metric when comparing the actual numbers to the reported franchise tag numbers) which you could maybe talk yourself into for a single year for Pratt, but even then that's a hard sell.

If we can't sign Pratt for a 7 digit AAV (9.99M or less AAV), I would just let him walk.

And then Bates is gone, we're not going to double tag him (which would cost about 15.5M with the 20% increase over his last year's salary), Bell isn't worth 14.46M, Hurst isn't worth 11.345M and Perine isn't worth 10.09M.

So we'll just have to see how free agency goes :)

[Graphicguy]

(02-21-2023, 01:17 PM)WeezyBengal Wrote: This team currently doesn't have a starting safety from last year on the team. 

They can more than afford to franchise Bates this year. Pair him with Dax for a year. 

Dax Hill and Bates DID play last year. Barring drafting another Safety (which I HIGHLY doubt), or signing someone in free agency (which I also doubt), Dax is starting.

Again, other more pressing priorities on this team other than Bates. I wish him well, wherever he lands.

I don’t want to go through last year’s drama…”will he play on the tag? Will he show up to camp? Will he hold out? Will he demand a trade?”

We don’t need any of that.

This is one of the Best teams in the NFL (can make a case that it’s THE BEST). If you want to play here on a reasonable contract and be a SB contender every year, this is your place. If all you want is the highest contract you can get, despite the drive for a SB every year? Go somewhere else.

[SunsetBengal]

(02-21-2023, 02:18 PM)Graphicguy Wrote: Dax Hill  and Bates DID play last year.  Barring drafting another Safety (which I HIGHLY doubt), or signing someone in free agency (which I also doubt), Dax is starting.

Again, other more pressing priorities on this team other than Bates.  I wish him well, wherever he lands.

I don’t want to go through last year’s drama…”will he play on the tag?  Will he show up to camp?  Will he hold out?  Will he demand a trade?”

We don’t need any of that.

What he's saying is that both Vonn Bell and Jesse Bates are no longer under contract, thus not on the team.

[Joelist]

Drue Crisman!

[WeezyBengal]

(02-21-2023, 02:23 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: What he's saying is that both Vonn Bell and Jesse Bates are no longer under contract, thus not on the team.

Right. 

[Stewy]

(02-21-2023, 01:17 PM)WeezyBengal Wrote: This team currently doesn't have a starting safety from last year on the team. 

They can more than afford to franchise Bates this year. Pair him with Dax for a year. 

One of the key reason Bates didn't sit out last year because he was a 2nd round pick and essentially had never been paid any big money as he was on his first contract.

LeVeon Bell's situation was unique in that he had already played on the TAG and banked millions, just like Bates did this year.  Thus, I find it very VERY likely that Bates will sit out a 2nd tag, since he just got paid enough to safely sit out, assuming he banked the pay instead of squandering it.

I fully expect that Bates will NOT play on a 2nd tag.

[Goalpost]

I think they will re-sign Bell. Depends on the price tag though. Last year the 1st two picks were DB's so I doubt they go that way this year. I will say there are a some solid safeties that could be available if it came down to it. J. L. Skinner and Antonio Johnson to name a couple. I've seen Antonio Johnson mocked to us more than once.