{"id":753093,"date":"2026-02-15T03:49:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T03:49:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/753093\/"},"modified":"2026-02-15T03:49:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T03:49:14","slug":"3-players-the-detroit-lions-could-use-the-franchise-tag-on-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/753093\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Players the Detroit Lions COULD Use the Franchise Tag on in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every offseason, the same question pops up around the NFL: Who\u2019s getting franchise-tagged? And for the Detroit Lions<\/a>, it\u2019s a fair thing to wonder, especially with several familiar veterans headed toward free agency.<\/p>\n

But when you dig into the numbers and the context, it becomes pretty clear why the franchise tag is more theory than reality for Detroit this year.<\/p>\n

\"Detroit<\/p>\n

Detroit Lions 2026 NFL Draft quarterback Dan Orlovsky Lions coach fell asleep Detroit Lions 2026 opponents Detroit Lions offseason dates Detroit Lions franchise tag<\/p>\n

The Lions Do Have Tag-Eligible Veterans<\/p>\n

If general manager Brad Holmes<\/a> wanted to use the franchise tag, he wouldn\u2019t be short on candidates. Three veterans from the 2025 roster stand out as logical possibilities based on role and experience:<\/p>\n

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Defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad<\/p>\n

Defensive tackle D.J. Reader<\/p>\n

All three played meaningful roles for Detroit and all three are set to hit the open market. In a vacuum, keeping any \u2014 or all \u2014 of them would make the roster better.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where the vacuum ends.<\/p>\n

The Franchise Tag Comes With a Catch<\/p>\n

The problem isn\u2019t player value, it\u2019s price.<\/p>\n

The franchise (and transition) tag doesn\u2019t care what a player\u2019s true market value is. It automatically bumps them into the upper tier of salaries at their position, which means a massive raise compared to what each of these players is projected to earn in free agency.<\/p>\n

For a team swimming in cap space, that\u2019s manageable.
For the Lions? Not so much.<\/p>\n

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Detroit is currently projected to be over the cap heading into the 2026 offseason. That reality alone makes the franchise tag a tough sell.<\/p>\n

Using it would require additional moves just to get compliant \u2014 and then you\u2019re still committing top-of-market money to a player whose expected free-agent deal likely comes in much lower.<\/p>\n

Why Holmes Is Unlikely to Overpay<\/p>\n

Brad Holmes has been consistent since arriving in Detroit: he doesn\u2019t overextend financially just to keep a name around.<\/p>\n

Tagging Muhammad, Anzalone, or Reader would almost certainly qualify as a MAJOR overpay relative to their expected contracts. Even though each player brings value, the cost of the tag would limit flexibility elsewhere \u2014 and Detroit has bigger-picture decisions to make across the roster.<\/p>\n

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This is especially true with younger players approaching extension windows and premium positions still needing attention.<\/p>\n

Smart Cap Management Over Splashy Moves<\/p>\n

Could the Lions technically use the franchise tag? Sure.<\/p>\n

Will they? Almost certainly not.<\/p>\n

Detroit\u2019s approach is more likely to involve:<\/p>\n

Letting the market set prices<\/p>\n

Negotiating team-friendly deals where possible<\/p>\n

Being willing to move on when the numbers stop making sense<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not flashy, but it\u2019s exactly how this front office has helped turn the Lions into a perennial contender.<\/p>\n

In short: don\u2019t expect a franchise-tag headline out of Allen Park this spring. The math \u2014 and the philosophy \u2014 just doesn\u2019t support it.<\/p>\n

The post 3 Players the Detroit Lions COULD Use the Franchise Tag on in 2026<\/a> appeared first on Detroit Sports Nation<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Every offseason, the same question pops up around the NFL: Who\u2019s getting franchise-tagged? And for the Detroit Lions,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":753094,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2071],"tags":[24909,6291,3337,146,113,2506,7,32472,147,6,4378],"class_list":{"0":"post-753093","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-detroit-lions","8":"tag-al-quadin-muhammad","9":"tag-alex-anzalone","10":"tag-brad-holmes","11":"tag-detroit","12":"tag-detroit-lions","13":"tag-detroitlions","14":"tag-football","15":"tag-franchise-tag","16":"tag-lions","17":"tag-nfl","18":"tag-the-lions"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116072610654681530","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/753093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=753093"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/753093\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/753094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=753093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=753093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=753093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}