Baltimore Ravens outside linebacker Matthew Judon signed his franchise tag tender on Thursday. But it’s not quite that simple.
Judon was designated as a linebacker, which carries a price of $15.828 million under the franchise tag. However, defensive ends are slated to earn $17.788 million on the franchise tag. With a potential disagreement on his designation, the Ravens and Judon met in the middle ground. Under the franchise tag in 2020, Judon will earn $16.808 million, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
The difference in designations has been a sore point on the franchise tag for years and one Baltimore has had to deal with before. Outside linebacker Terrell Suggs filed a grievance when the Ravens used the franchise tag on him in 2008, initially designating him as a linebacker instead of a defensive end. The sides reached an agreement to split the difference at that time, much like has happened with Judon.
While the designations go by player position, there’s a case to be made for linebacker to be split up or a new hybrid position to be created. The difference in what premier inside linebackers and outside linebackers make is massive — a disparity of $5.5 million per year between the top contract for both positions, according to Over the Cap, with the difference primarily being how often each rushes the quarterback. Though Judon is far more than just a pass rusher for Baltimore, he still rushed the quarterback nearly 80% of the time, according to Pro Football Focus.
