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| Tuesday, February 18, 2025 |
| Welcome to the Tuesday edition of the Pick Six newsletter! |
| If you have an NFL offseason calendar in front of you, and I don't know why you would, but if you do, then you may have noticed that today is the first big day of the offseason, and that's because the franchise tag window has officially opened. |
| From today through March 4, teams are allowed to use the franchise tag, so in today's newsletter we'll be taking a look at a list of the players who might get hit with the tag. It's a long list, so we should probably get started now. All right, let's get to the rundown. |
| As always, here's your daily reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. To get them signed up, all you have to do is click here. |
| 1. Franchise tag window opens: Looking at players who could possibly get tagged |
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| The first big event of the NFL offseason is here: The franchise tag window is officially open. |
| For the next two weeks, each team is allowed to use the franchise tag on one player (but they don't have to use it). Once a team uses a tag on a player, the two sides have until July to work out a long-term deal. If no deal is reached, then the player will get a fully guaranteed one-year contract in 2025 at the franchise tag number, which is different for each position. (This year, the current estimate is that those numbers will range from a low of $6.46 million for kickers to a high of $41.33 million for quarterbacks.) |
| Last season, a total of eight teams used the franchise tag. This year, teams will have until March 4 to decide if they want to tag someone. |
| Our Tyler Sullivan came up with a list of franchise tag candidates, and we're going to go over five of them here. You can see his list below, along with what their salary will be for 2025 if they play on the tag. |
| Bengals: WR Tee Higgins ($26.18 million). "The Bengals already tagged wideout Tee Higgins last year, so doing so again would cost the organization a pretty penny. However, Joe Burrow has been adamant that the franchise can retain Higgins, so maybe tagging him could prove to be a placeholder before ultimately reaching an long-term extension."Cowboys: DT Osa Odighizuwa ($23.47 million). "Odighizuwa is a potential candidate for Dallas, but the $23.4 million tag figure is pricy for a Cowboys organization that is currently $2.8 million over the salary cap. Odighizuwa is coming off a 2024 season where he set career highs in sacks (4.5) and quarterback hits (23)."Chiefs: OL Trey Smith ($25.16 million). "The Chiefs are roughly $1 million over the salary cap, so they will need to rework their books before free agency. Starting left guard Trey Smith is set to be one of the more sought-after interior linemen on the market this spring, and while Kansas City would like to retain him, it may be too costly to do that via the franchise tag." Vikings: QB Sam Darnold ($41.33 million). "While Darnold will seek a long-term extension, the Vikings could make the savvy move of franchising him to keep him in-house for another year as J.J. McCarthy develops."Eagles: LB Zack Baun ($27.05 million). "The linebacker turned in a first-team All-Pro season after inking a one-year deal last offseason, and is now due for a massive pay bump. The tag would pay Baun $27 million and Philly currently has $18 million in available space, so it'll be tricky to keep some/all of these championship pieces." |
| To see the rest of Sullivan's list and the franchise tag number for each position, be sure to click here. |
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| 2. NFL offseason calendar: Here are the biggest dates you need to circle now |
| With the franchise tag window opening Tuesday, I thought now would be a good time to rehash all the important dates on the NFL offseason calendar. Fortunately for me, one of our writers already did that -- former NFL agent Joel Corry -- and here are the key dates he would like everyone to know over the next month. |
| Feb. 18: Franchise tag window opens. "The 15-day period where teams can designate franchise or transition players begins."Feb. 27-March 4: NFL Combine. "The NFL Scouting Combine takes place in Indianapolis. Meetings between agents of impending free agents and teams routinely occur at the combine, although these types of discussions are prohibited by NFL rules. Teams are rarely penalized for tampering with players from other teams when those players are scheduled to become free agents." March 4: Tag window closes. "The period for designating franchise or transition players ends at 4 p.m. ET."March 10-12: Legal tampering period. "NFL teams are allowed to negotiate with the agents of prospective unrestricted free agents during a two-day period beginning March 10 at 12 p.m. ET and ending at 3:59:59 p.m. ET on March 12."March 12: Free agency starts. The 2025 league year and free agency will begin at 4 p.m. ET (All teams must be in compliance with the salary cap at this point). |
| Those are your key dates, but they're not the only key dates. |
| I would advise you to click here and check out Corry's entire story and that's mainly because he explains why there are several other key dates on the calendar over the next month. For instance, Derek Carr has a $30 million base salary for 2025 that becomes fully guaranteed on March 14, so if the Saints are looking to move on from Carr, they'll almost certainly have to make a decision by March 14. |
| 3. Bengals set to go all in on keeping their biggest stars |
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| Joe Burrow has made it very clear this offseason that he expects the Bengals to do whatever it takes to keep Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Trey Hendrickson on the team. According to ESPN.com, the team has gotten that message and the Bengals are going to do whatever possible to keep the band together. |
| Here's a look at what that means and how much it could end up costing the Bengals: |
| Tee Higgins likely to get tagged. As we mentioned earlier, Higgins is likely going to be hit with the franchise tag. Since Higgins got tagged last year at a price of $21.8 million, that means a second tag will cost the Bengals 20% more so he'll get roughly $26.18 million for the 2025 season if he plays on a second tag. The advantage of tagging Higgins is that it would give the two sides until July 15 to work out a long-term contract. Ja'Marr Chase contract. Chase is heading into the final year of his rookie deal, which is set to pay him $21.82 million in 2025. The Bengals star is almost certainly going to be getting an extension this offseason and it won't be cheap. The highest-paid receiver in the NFL is currently Justin Jefferson, who's making an average of $35 million per year. Chase will likely surpass that number comfortably, which means the Bengals will be paying him north of $36 million per year. Trey Hendrickson is where the real drama is. Just before the Super Bowl, the Bengals star said he wanted to be traded or given a new contract. Hendrickson, who led the NFL in sacks in 2024, is set to make just $15.8 million in 2025, which is well below market value. Nick Bosa is at the top of the market ($34 million annually) followed by Josh Hines-Allen ($28.25 million), Brian Burns ($28.2 million) and T.J. Watt ($28.002 million). The Bengals are going to have to go well out of their comfort zone and likely get near those numbers if they want to keep Hendrickson. |
| You can read more about that trio here. |
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| 4. Trevor Lawrence responds to Steelers trade rumors |
| The offseason is always full of surprises and there appeared to be a huge surprise last week when a report came out that the Steelers made a call to Jacksonville about possibly making a trade for Trevor Lawrence. |
| During an interview on "Up and Adams" this week, the Jaguars quarterback responded to those rumors this week, and he pretty much shot them down. |
| Lawrence has a no-trade clause. One thing Lawrence pointed out during the interview is that he has a no-trade clause, so it wouldn't make much sense for the Jaguars to field any potential trade calls without talking to him first. "I have a no-trade clause in my contract, so I would know about it if I was getting traded or if that was something that was going to happen," Lawrence said. "I'd have to be on board with it, which I'm not."Lawerence wants to stay in Jacksonville. Lawrence just signed a five-year, $275 million extension with the Jaguars in June and he's not planning on leaving the team anytime soon. "I'm happy here in Jacksonville," Lawrence said. "I plan on -- we want to win a Super Bowl here, and I think we can do that, and I don't want to leave Jacksonville. So, I'm happy here, obviously. I'm not going to Pittsburgh."So did the Steelers ever call? Just because the Jags aren't looking to trade Lawrence doesn't mean another team can't call them. In this instance, it's looking like a report came out that simply wasn't accurate. According to ESPN.com, no conversation ever took place between the Steelers and Jaguars about Lawrence's availability. |
| You can read more about the Lawerence situation here. |
| 5. Ranking every 2024 draft class: NFC East takes top three spots |
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| If we learned one thing about the NFC East this year, it's that every team except for the Cowboys knows how to draft. CBS Sports NFL draft guru Chris Trapasso decided to rank every 2024 draft class based on how each team's rookies played during the 2024 season and the top three spots in his ranking are ALL held by NFC East teams. |
| Let's check out his top three: |
| 1. Commanders. "Jayden Daniels concluding his rookie season as the runaway Offensive Rookie of the Year pushes the Commanders over two of their NFC East rivals here. Mike Sainristil was otherworldly at times -- particularly in the playoffs -- as a former slot cornerback playing on the perimeter, and Brandon Coleman held it down at left tackle as a rookie." |
| 2. Giants. "GM Joe Schoen and Co. pieced together a fine 2024 class despite what ultimately was a disastrous season. Malik Nabers might be the best receiver in the NFL someday (soon) while Andru Phillips and Tyrone Tracy were outstanding finds later in the draft. Tracy is a strong contender for second-best rookie back behind only Bucky Irving in Tampa Bay." |
| 3. Eagles. "GM Howie Roseman hit three home runs with his first three swings at the plate in the 2024 draft. Quinyon Mitchell played like a 10-year veteran in man coverage on the boundary, Cooper DeJean was tremendous as a do-everything slot corner/safety and Jalyx Hunt settled in as a disruptive pass-rushing specialist down the stretch and during the Eagles' Super Bowl run, donning Trent Cole's old No. 58." |
| The NFC East could have pulled off a clean sweep of the top four spots in Traspasso's ranking, but the Cowboys blew that in a big way. Trapasso had the Cowboys' rookie class ranked as the 27th best overall. |
| Trapasso's list included all 32 teams, and if you want to know where each team ranked, you can check out his full story here. |
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| 6. Extra points: Packers likely done with Pro Bowl corner |
| It's been a busy 24 hours in the NFL, and since it's nearly impossible to keep track of everything that happened, I went ahead and put together a roundup for you. |
| Packers likely to move on from Jaire Alexander. After watching Alexander miss 10 games in each of the past two seasons, it seems that the Packers are ready to move on from their Pro Bowl corner. The former first-round draft pick, who had a career-high five interceptions in 2022, hasn't been able to stay healthy and it's clear the Packers are getting frustrated. You can read more about his future here. Netflix could make play for NFL TV package. After buying rights to two NFL games for the first time ever in 2024, it looks like Netflix could have its eyes set on something bigger. According to Puck.com , the streaming giant might attempt to go big by purchasing a Sunday afternoon package when the NFL's media rights go up for bidding again. The media rights package runs through 2033, but the NFL can opt out and put them up for bidding again in 2029. Broncos hire Darren Rizzi. The Saints interim coach is headed to Denver where he'll serve as the special teams coordinator/assistant head coach under Sean Payton. Rizzi has been an NFL special teams coordinator since 2010 when he took a job with the Dolphins. He was hired as the Saints' special teams coach in 2019 and that's the job he held until he was promoted to interim coach following the firing of Dennis Allen in November. The Saints weren't interested in keeping him for 2025, which opened the door for him to head to Denver. Ravens offensive lineman arrested. Ben Cleveland has been charged with DUI after being arrested in Georgia on Feb. 12. Cleveland was cited for for DUI and failure to maintain lane. The Ravens offensive lineman had a BAC of .178, which is more than twice the legal limit. You can read more about his arrest here. |
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