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With the NFL's franchise tag deadline having passed, ESPN's Ben Solak highlighted the winners and losers from what transpired. For the Indianapolis Colts, they have one player in each category.
Among Solak's winners was Alec Pierce. By not being tagged, Pierce will have the opportunity to hit the open market, where he is certainly going to garner a lot of interest, and with that, could come a bigger payday.
The Colts will want to work out a long-term deal before then, but from the sounds of it, Pierce wants to explore all of his options.
"Pierce should see a ton of interest, as the list of WR-needy teams nicely coincides with the most cap-rich franchises," wrote Solak. "The Titans, Raiders and Jets all need receiver help, and the Steelers and Patriots aren't far behind."
With Pierce in the winners category, Solak put Daniel Jones with the losers. The Colts would use the transition tag on Jones. This allows him to test his market and negotiate with other teams, but the Colts will have the opportunity to match any offer.
As Solak put it, the Colts are challenging Jones' representatives to go out and see how robust his market actually is coming off a major injury.
"For Jones, it's not a terrible outcome," wrote Solak. "His best football -- and accordingly best path to a big contract -- is almost certainly with Steichen in Indianapolis. And he still might get that deal done; he can use free agency to get an accurate evaluation on his market, then sign an extension with the Colts before July 15. His play warrants a multiyear deal, and I'd wager he ends this process with one ... if just a little bit smaller than he was hoping."
Until we see how all of this plays out, the Colts won't be placed in the loser column, but it's worth watching. If Indianapolis fails to sign one of Jones or Pierce to a long-term deal, it's a failure. And even if they do, depending on how free agency unfolds with these two able to negotiate with other teams, Indianapolis could end up paying more to do so.
This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: Analyst evaluates good and bad from Colts using transition tag
Continue reading...
Among Solak's winners was Alec Pierce. By not being tagged, Pierce will have the opportunity to hit the open market, where he is certainly going to garner a lot of interest, and with that, could come a bigger payday.
The Colts will want to work out a long-term deal before then, but from the sounds of it, Pierce wants to explore all of his options.
"Pierce should see a ton of interest, as the list of WR-needy teams nicely coincides with the most cap-rich franchises," wrote Solak. "The Titans, Raiders and Jets all need receiver help, and the Steelers and Patriots aren't far behind."
With Pierce in the winners category, Solak put Daniel Jones with the losers. The Colts would use the transition tag on Jones. This allows him to test his market and negotiate with other teams, but the Colts will have the opportunity to match any offer.
As Solak put it, the Colts are challenging Jones' representatives to go out and see how robust his market actually is coming off a major injury.
"For Jones, it's not a terrible outcome," wrote Solak. "His best football -- and accordingly best path to a big contract -- is almost certainly with Steichen in Indianapolis. And he still might get that deal done; he can use free agency to get an accurate evaluation on his market, then sign an extension with the Colts before July 15. His play warrants a multiyear deal, and I'd wager he ends this process with one ... if just a little bit smaller than he was hoping."
Until we see how all of this plays out, the Colts won't be placed in the loser column, but it's worth watching. If Indianapolis fails to sign one of Jones or Pierce to a long-term deal, it's a failure. And even if they do, depending on how free agency unfolds with these two able to negotiate with other teams, Indianapolis could end up paying more to do so.
This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: Analyst evaluates good and bad from Colts using transition tag
Continue reading...
