Redskins Do Not Designate Any Player With Franchise Tag

The one-year contract tender, designed to keep marquee players with their team for at least another season, was not extended by the Redskins to any of their upcoming free agents.

BY ZAC BOYER

The Redskins did not use the franchise designation on any of their impending free agents during the two-week window that ended Monday – a move that is not at all unexpected given the state of the team’s salary cap.

Davis

Only tight end Fred Davis was a reasonable option for the tag, which allows a team to offer a player a one-year contract worth the average of the top five salaries at that player’s position.

Because Davis received the tag from the Redskins last year, he would have reached an escalator that kicked his 2013 salary to roughly $6.45 million – a sum that’s far ahead of what he is likely to receive on the open market.

Entering his sixth season, Davis only played seven games for Washington this past season after tearing his left Achilles’ tendon against the New York Giants on Oct. 21.

Left guard Kory Lichtensteiger, right tackle Tyler Polumbus, tight end Logan Paulsen, fullback Darrel Young, linebackers Rob Jackson and Lorenzo Alexander, free safety Madieu Williams and punter Sav Rocca are among Washington’s 20 players who are set to become free agents when the league year begins on March 12.

Paulsen, Young and long snapper Nick Sundberg are restricted free agents, which means the Redskins can tender them a contract through the start of the league year that other teams would have to match.

The salary cap was set at $123 million last week – a total that was slightly higher than expected, but, with the Redskins facing an $18 million salary cap penalty, leaves them with $105 million to spend on players. They are currently projected to stand more than $3 million over that amount.

Permalink: http://news.fredericksburg.com/redskinsjournal/2013/03/04/redskins-do-not-designate-any-player-with-franchise-tag/