Tennessee Titans to use franchise tag on Ryan Tannehill?

A report from ESPN’s Dianna Russini says the Tennessee Titans are likely to use the franchise tag on quarterback Ryan Tannehill.

The Tennessee Titans might take a different route than a long-term contract in order to bring back quarterback Ryan Tannehill in 2020.

On NFL Live, ESPN’s Dianna Russini reported that the Titans may use the franchise tag on Tannehill, who is set to become a free agent this offseason (h/t Bleacher Report).

She also notes that there is mutual interest between the two sides in a reunion (duh) and that Tannehill and the Titans “want to do good business”.

Should the Titans use the franchise tag on Tannehill, it would stop him from being able to negotiate with other teams, and Tennessee could either let him play the year out or continue to work on a long-term deal after he is tagged.

Should Tannehill play under the franchise tag in 2020 it would pay him nearly $27 million, per Over The Cap, but the Titans would be able to get another look at him to see if his impressive 2019 season was a fluke or not.

The only issue with giving Tannehill the franchise tag is that it would leave just the transition tag to use on running back Derrick Henry, who is also a free agent in the offseason.

The difference between the franchise tag and transition tag is that players on the transition tag can negotiate with other teams, but the Titans would have a chance to match any offer. Also, the transition tag pays less than the franchise tag.

The danger in giving Henry the transition tag is that another team could make a huge offer to him that the Titans aren’t willing to match, which would lead to Henry playing elsewhere next season.

Of course, that wouldn’t matter if the Titans can simply work out a deal with Henry before needing a tag in the first place.

The first day players can be designated with either tag is on February 25th. You can take a look at all the important offseason dates right here.