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Monday, March 2, at 4 p.m. was the Deadline Day for NFL teams to designate their franchise and transition tags to players.
Several key players were given the franchise tag from their respective teams. Notable players who didn’t receive a franchise tag include: Ndamokung Suh, Randall Cobb, Julius Thomas and DeMarco Murray. NFL.com writer Gil Brandt tweeted some of the bigger names who received a tag.
NFL Free Agency starts next Tuesday, March 10. The 2015 salary cap was set at $143 million, so cross these players off the market:
Dez Bryant
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Dez’s franchise tag was expected after news of it first broke on Saturday afternoon.
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Demaryius Thomas
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Thomas will make $12.8 million in 2015. Last season, former teammate Eric Decker left in Free agency to sign a five-year, $42 million contract with the New York Jets.
There were concerns about Thomas’ allegiance to Denver. Peyton Manning did not look good to end last season, and there were rumors about whether he would retire — Manning looks to be leaning to playing in 2015. Thomas has been the main beneficiary of Peyton’s success in Denver. He is an “elite” and one of the 10 best wide receivers in the NFL.
Justin Houston
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Houston will make $13 million. He is the best pass rusher — opposite Tamba Hali too — on a good Kansas City Chiefs team.
Houston has 48.5 career sacks including 22 in 2015 — a half-sack short of tying Michael Strahan’s record from 2002. He has developed into an elite pass-rusher; a three-time Pro Bowl selection and was a First Team All-Pro in 2015.
Jason Pierre-Paul
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Jason Pierre-Paul will make $14.8 million in 2015.
There is some evidence that, although JPP finished with 12.5 sacks in 2014, he is a compiler who racks up his statistics against lesser competition.
Regardless of how he has played since 2011’s Super Bowl winning season, he is the New York Giants best pass-rusher and defensive end, and they couldn’t afford to let him go either way.
Stephen Gostkowski
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Gostkowski is really good — the Patriots sure do know how to find kickers, eh?
The rest of the 2015 offseason schedule can be found here.
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