Will the Bengals use the franchise tag this offseason?
One offseason ago, the Cincinnati Bengals used the franchise tag on safety Jessie Bates.
And while this year’s potential Bengals free-agent class looks even more dramatic, it’s hard to imagine the team using the tag.
Still, it’s worth looking at a few names now that the window to tag players has opened.
First up is Bates. A second tag would mean a 120 percent uptick of the salary from last season. That roughly $15.5 million would be far too expensive (just as the cost to extend him probably is). So this isn’t happening.
Second is linebacker Germaine Pratt. The Bengals would probably love to employ this method if they can’t agree to an extension. But the LB tag number is dramatically over-inflated due to pass-rushers, costing $20.9 million, so it’s an extension or nothing with Pratt.
Third is…the rest. They’re not going to tag Vonn Bell at $14.5 million and they won’t tag Hayden Hurst at $11.3 million.
So no, the Bengals aren’t likely to use a tag this year. The team has admitted the focus is on retaining their own players now and the one-year deal Hurst signed might be a blueprint for how they want to sign outside free agents.
But the focus is getting extensions done. First is Joe Burrow, then perhaps Tee Higgins and Logan Wilson. A franchise tag would eat too much cap when they can use a big number like that to likely retain multiple guys and/or add multiple guys from the market.
