The oh so, aforementioned Buccaneers franchise tag
It feels like all some “talking heads” can react to at this part of the year is “franchise tag, franchise tag, franchise tag!”, so when the question came up–as expected–Jason Licht used it as an opportunity to be rather blunt and straightforward with the media:
"“You’re not gonna get me to tell you who is gonna get tagged because right now we couldn’t even tell you ourselves.”"
He did, however, use it as an opportunity to reiterate the importance of the tag! You only get one and last year the Buccaneers used it on Shaq Barrett, who then went on to make more money that season than at any point in his six-year career. The tag has become kind of a dirty word by now, even though it means a BIG payday for most, and that’s mostly because like the average person NFL players want security in their jobs. A one-year deal that decides to provide any guarantees for the future in case of injury, etc. can be hard for many to take. Most reports and rumors seem to suggest that this years’ “prize” will go to Chris Godwin which does seem the most logical. A defender is always an option too, but more of a longshot.