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With the Indianapolis Colts and pending free agent starting quarterback Daniel Jones reportedly still ‘not close’ in ongoing contract negotiations , ESPN’s Dan Graziano indicated that the transition tag could be an option for the Horseshoe before the league’s tag deadline of March 3rd at 4 PM EST:
“If the Colts can’t get a deal done with Jones by Tuesday’s tag deadline, it sounds like they’ll put the transition tag on him,” writes Graziano.
“That means Pierce could hit free agency and another team could sign Jones to an offer sheet (and the Colts wouldn’t get draft pick compensation if he were to sign elsewhere). I think the Colts push to get a long-term deal done with Jones to avoid those possibilities, but as of Saturday morning, it doesn’t sound close.”
It’s worth noting that an NFL club can only use either the franchise tag or the transition tag once per offseason, so the Colts have one tag at their disposal to potentially use between the priority internal free agent duo of Jones and lead wideout Alec Pierce, who should also have a number of interested suitors.
Via Colts.com, in contrast to the franchise tag, the transition tag operates as follows:
“Like the non-exclusive franchise tag, players can negotiate offer sheets with other teams while on the transition tag. There are two key differences: First, the salary of the transition tag is determined by the average of the top 10 salaries at a player’s position over the last five years; second, if a team declines to match an offer sheet, it does not receive compensation in return. It’s basically a right of first refusal mechanism.”
For Jones ahead of this year’s free agency, the transition tag would be a projected $43.9 million.
If I were the Colts, allowing breakout wideout Alec Pierce, who’s emerged as one of the league’s elite deep threats at 25-years-old—having led the NFL in highest average yards per reception for consecutive seasons, hit free agency without a franchise tag applied, would make me very weary of my ability to safely retain him.
I’m not saying they couldn’t in that scenario, but it could prove to be a lot more unpredictable and challenging.
The early waves of free agency can be a rabid frenzy, especially when looking at even former Indy defensive lineman’s Dayo Odeyingbo’s inflated market during last year’s initial free agency period. Odeyingbo quickly signed with the Chicago Bears on a 3-year, $48 million deal. It’s possible that the Colts could ultimately get priced out on Pierce, if they’re not overly careful here.
It makes more sense to me to try to get a deal done with Jones as soon as possible to give the Colts the ability to apply the franchise tag on Pierce at the last minute, if necessary.
If I were the Colts, I’d be more concerned about losing Pierce than Jones outright, because while Jones should command the higher average annual value on his next contract by virtue of playing the league’s highest paid position at starting quarterback, Pierce projects to have more interested suitors all together—as he’s been connected to almost every team in need of a potential wide receiver upgrade this early offseason.