The Cincinnati Bengals didn’t need to use the franchise tag this offseason.
Other teams forged ahead with the tag ahead of the Tuesday deadline:
Jadeveon Clowney, Texans
Robbie Gould, 49ers
Grady Jarrett, Falcons
Frank Clark, Seahawks
DeMarcus Lawrence, Cowboys
The Bengals avoided needing to use the tag by getting Geno Atkins and Carlos Dunlap locked up on extensions. This time next year though, the following four guys might be tag candidates.
Tyler Boyd
It’s hard to imagine the Bengals let a 24-year-old wideout coming off a breakout season get away so soon. Boyd posted the first 1,000-yard campaign of his career last season, scoring seven touchdowns in the process. It was a delayed outburst — but an encouraging one for the future. The problem for the Bengals is the fact A.J. Green needs a big-money extension too.
William Jackson
The Bengals can still deploy Jackson’s fifth-year option and delay this whole process. He’s still a top boundary guy even if Teryl Austin had him playing out of his comfort zone last year. Extending Jackson’s rookie contract won’t change the fact he’ll eventually be a tag candidate because the Bengals already have so much cash wrapped up in Dre Kirkpatrick and figure to want Darqueze Dennard back.
Clint Boling
Will the Bengals make the same mistake they did with Kevin Zeitler? Boling is the team’s best offensive lineman right now and they can’t afford to lose him — but are they willing to pay an interior guy? If not, they had better be willing to use a tag.
A.J. Green
We’ve already wondered how smoothly Green extension talks with go for the Bengals. He’ll be 31 years old in July and struggled with injuries lately, missing 13 games over the past three seasons. Green is the type of guy the front office takes care of early to get it out of the way. But with so many massive contracts happening at wideout around the league and Boyd also needing a deal, one has to wonder if this will drag out and enter potential tag territory next offseason.
