The Carolina Panthers have let the deadline for this year’s franchise tag to come and go without making a move. This was as expected.
The only player that made even a little bit of sense as far as franchise tag candidates go was offensive tackle Daryl Williams. He’s about to become a free agent and Carolina is already perilously thin at the position. However, paying Williams over $14 million to stay would not have been the wisest use of the team’s limited salary cap resources.
Keeping Williams around isn’t necessarily a bad idea in itself, though. If the Panthers can convince him to re-sign and stick around for another year at a prove-2017-was-not-a-fluke kind of price, then that would be a sharp move by general manager Marty Hurney and company. Williams may believe he can make more on the open market, though.
Here’s a complete list of the NFL teams who did use the tag this year.
Falcons: DT Grady Jarrett
Chiefs: OLB Dee Ford
Cowboys: DE DeMarcus Lawrence
Texans: OLB Jadeveon Clowney
Seahawks: DE Frank Clark
49ers: K Robbie Gould
Carolina did not use the franchise tag last year, either. Defensive tackle Kawann Short was the last player to receive the tag from the team in 2017. He eventually signed a five-year contract extension.
