The NFL’s franchise tag window opened this week and teams have some time to consider what to do about their most important free agents. For the New Orleans Saints, that list is pretty thin — just three players appear likely to get multi-year deals on the free agent market. Would the franchise tag be an option for retaining any of them? Probably not, given the team’s tight salary cap situation, but you never know. They were in similar circumstances a few years back and still found room to use the tag on safety Marcus Williams (only to lose him a year later).
But what about the transition tag? It’s a slightly cheaper alternative but doesn’t guarantee compensation for the Saints if another team signs the player to an extension; if they use the franchise tag on someone and don’t match an offer, they’ll get multiple first round draft picks back. So it’s riskier if you’re worried about losing the player. You can read more on the distinctions and exclusive franchise tags versus non-exclusive franchise tags here.
So what would it cost? Could it be worth it? Let’s highlight each of the Saints’ three priority free agents and decide: