The Dude

I can't remember. Ever since Loomis has been around it is always at the very last minute but a deal eventually gets done. I can't remember the last time we had a key player we let play under the tag?

Jankman8

A Deal will get done in the 10 Mio. / year range.
Super backloaded and hopefully with incentives!

hagan714

i could care less play him tagged. tag him again next year also if you have too.

incentives? rate of beating CB coverage? Blocking?

Jack Vegas

To answer the question, there is a marquee player who played under the franchise tag just last year. He is a safety and he is on the Saints roster.

the-commish

With the Saints WRs this season (especially Brandin Cooks) Graham might not have to beat CBs very often.

On blocking, however, he has to do a better job there... so the opposing defense can't discern whether is a pass or run when Graham is in the game.

ScottF

We use the Tag pretty sparingly. We tried to tag Brees, but I don't think we have used at all since Grant in the mid 2000's

SaintFanInATLHELL

So you tie your salary cap into knots for a year or two, pay the player upwards of $15 million, and then let him walk away to complete his HOF career elsewhere with no compensation?

From a cost standpoint it would be smarter to release him from the tag and allow someone else to sign him for $12 million a year. Playing under the tag is a cap disaster for the Saints.

The way that it's supposed to work is that in a contract year (which is the prior season) that a player is supposed to play up to his value. The 86 receptions, 1215 yards, and 16 TD (leading everyone in the NFL last year) are all on the top lists for single season for a TE in the history of the NFL.

That's playing up to your value. BTW all done on a foot injury.

Keeping Graham from a long term contract because of blocking is like failing to pay Brees because his handoffs look funky. It's simply not where the value of the player resides.

SFIAH

Super Bowl Championships: New Orleans Saints:1, Carolina:0, Atlanta Chokers: STILL ZERO

Only Atlanta choked in an unchokable situation... Life is definitely good.

SaintFanInATLHELL

Tried to tag Brees?

New Orleans Saints place franchise tag on quarterback Drew Brees | NOLA.com

The Saints did tag Brees. They had to. Otherwise he would have been a free agent.

Getting tagged in March and playing under the tag in September are two completely different things.

That's why the upcoming July 15th deadline is so crucial. It's the final date that a long term deal can be signed. After that the only options are to play under the tag, or not play at all.

SFIAH

Schmohams

I don't think Graham could become a HOFer anywhere else besides New Orleans. It's the system that helps him strive and the position could be filled (not replaced) by a player with a much lower price tag.

|Mitch|

I'll take that bet; there are many teams that use their tight-end extensively in the pass game.

Patriots, 49ers, and even the Cowboys come to mind as teams that wouldn't have to go out of their way to accommodate Graham in their system...