Amidst all the news about the potential Russell Wilson trade to the Denver Broncos on Tuesday, a very important deadline came and went. March 8 marked the last day teams could use either the franchise or transition tag on a potential free agent. The Seattle Seahawks used neither.
In fact, only eight teams opted to use the franchise tag this year on the following players: Bengals safety Jessie Bates, Browns tight end David Njoku, Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin, Chiefs tackle Orlando Brown, Cowboys tight end Dalton Schultz, Dolphins tight end Mike Gesicki, Jaguars tackle Cam Robinson and Packers wide receiver Davante Adams.
Under the current regime of Pete Carroll and John Schneider, the Seahawks have only used the franchise tag two times. The tag was first used on kicker Olindo Mare in 2010 and then on defensive end Frank Clark in 2019 before he was traded to the Chiefs shortly thereafter.
OK, back to the Russell Wilson trade discussion . . .
