{"id":758146,"date":"2026-02-17T11:27:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T11:27:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/758146\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T11:27:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T11:27:15","slug":"nfl-franchise-tag-window-opens-will-patriots-use-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/758146\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL franchise tag window opens: Will Patriots use it?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Starting on Tuesday, NFL teams can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patspulpit.com\/new-england-patriots-free-agency-rumors-signings-updates-transactions\/122003\/nfl-free-agency-2026-full-list-of-patriots-free-agents-this-offseason\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">begin employing the franchise or transition tag<\/a> to keep pending unrestricted free agents from the open market. The New England Patriots have multiple players in that category as well, but they are nonetheless unlikely to use any of the tags this year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">While they do have the financial means, a look at their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patspulpit.com\/new-england-patriots-free-agency-rumors-signings-updates-transactions\/122003\/nfl-free-agency-2026-full-list-of-patriots-free-agents-this-offseason\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">2026 free agency class<\/a> shows that there are simply no realistic candidates to receive the tag.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The highest-profile names are defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga, outside linebacker K\u2019Lavon Chaisson and safety Jaylinn Hawkins. While all three played important roles on the Patriots during their 2025 Super Bowl season, the value associated with the tag does not compare favorably with their contributions and outlook.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Even though no official numbers have been announced yet, <a href=\"https:\/\/overthecap.com\/franchise-transition-and-rfa-tenders\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Over the Cap<\/a> projects the tag to be worth $26.3 million for Tonga, $27.3 million for Chaisson, and $20.9 million for Hawkins. Chaisson\u2019s eventual free agency contract should come closest to that price tag, but neither he nor any of his fellow UFAs \u2014 a group also including TE Austin Hooper, OT Thayer Munford Jr. and OT Vederian Lowe \u2014 are in line to be tagged at that cost.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Despite New England likely forgoing the franchise tag for a second year in a row, their front office will keep a keen eye on the rest of the league. A few potential free agency targets, after all, could become available if not tagged by their respective teams.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Players to keep an eye on in that regard are Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce, Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens, Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts, Cincinnati Bengals edge Trey Hendrickson and Los Angeles Chargers edge Odafe Oweh. All five of them are intriguing talents at their respective positions and would help fill needs in New England.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The franchise tag window will remain open until March 3 at 4 p.m. ET. Any players not tagged at that point are set to enter free agency on March 11.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Starting on Tuesday, NFL teams can begin employing the franchise or transition tag to keep pending unrestricted free&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":758147,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2050],"tags":[7,1167,249,57412,2326,2094,6,208],"class_list":{"0":"post-758146","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-england-patriots","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-new-england","10":"tag-new-england-patriots","11":"tag-new-england-patriots-free-agency","12":"tag-newengland","13":"tag-newenglandpatriots","14":"tag-nfl","15":"tag-patriots"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/758146","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=758146"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/758146\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/758147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=758146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=758146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=758146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}