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New England Patriots Likely To Be Looking On During NFL’s Game Of Franchise Tag

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The game of tag begins Tuesday across the NFL. It will be played until 4 p.m. ET on March 9.

But the New England Patriots are likely to be looking on from the sidelines while other teams utilize the franchise designation on impending free agents.

That wasn’t the case last offseason. In the final hours before the start of legal tampering, it was left guard Joe Thuney who saw his opportunity to reach the open market become a one-year, $14.781 million guarantee instead.

“Joe has been a model teammate and an essential element to our success since joining our team in 2016,” the Patriots said in a press release soon after. “Utilizing the franchise designation allows both sides more time to try to reach the goal of a long-term agreement.”

No long-term agreement followed before last summer’s deadline. No long-term agreement has since the sides became eligible to resume negotiations after the 7-9 campaign. Tagging Thuney once again would lead to a 120% salary increase and a cap charge of $17.737 million that would sit atop the current roster for 2021.

Those odds appear distant. Even for an organization projected to carry over $63.5 million in space into the new league year, per PatsCap’s Miguel Benzan. And even for a 28-year-old who has started all 90 games since arriving in the NFL draft’s third round out of North Carolina State.

Thuney has eclipsed 6,000 career offensive snaps between his regular seasons and postseasons. He is among 22 Patriots closing in on unrestricted free agency next month.

Over the former All-Pro’s right shoulder on the offensive line, center David Andrews is one of them after concluding a three-year extension. Across the line of scrimmage, fellow captain and All-Decade member Lawrence Guy is another after concluding a four-year pact. Both are candidates to be retained in a different price range than Thuney, who may soon reset the guard position and net a top compensatory pick.

Fourteen teams played franchise tag in 2020. That the Patriots were among them served as a surprise. Under head coach Bill Belichick, however, it was the latest in a line of ten.

Before Thuney, New England’s all-time scoring leader, kicker Stephen Gostkowski, was franchised as a placeholder for a new deal in 2015. Slot receiver Wes Welker, defensive tackle Vince Wilfork, guard Logan Mankins, quarterback Matt Cassel, cornerback Asante Samuel, safety Tebucky Jones and kicker Adam Vinatieri were the previous.

Vinatieri received the tag twice before signing with the Indianapolis Colts in 2006. Jones and Cassel, on the other hand, were traded to the New Orleans Saints in 2003 and the Kansas City Chiefs in 2009, respectively. The purpose varies.

But the purpose of this year’s franchise window should be New England’s assessment from afar.

At wide receiver, where the 2020 tag figure reached $17.865 million, Allen Robinson of the Chicago Bears, Kenny Golladay of the Detroit Lions, Will Fuller of the Houston Texans and Chris Godwin of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are targets to monitor. As for the production gap at tight end, where the figure last sat at $10.607 million and saw Hunter Henry of the Los Angeles Chargers tagged, the same goes for the Tennessee Titans’ Jonnu Smith.

On the other side of the ball, defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson of the New York Giants and linebacker Haason Reddick of the Arizona Cardinals could also cross the radar as potential free-agent fits at positions of need. The tags at those spots up front previously checked in at $16.126 million and $15.828 million apiece.

There are additional names in a game that will go on for two weeks.

The Patriots, if only spectators this time, will have a clearer look at the playing field by the end of it.

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