The NFL deadline for teams to use the franchise tag closed at 4:00 p.m. ET on March 3, and the Jacksonville Jaguars decided not to use it. They had two realistic candidates in running back Travis Etienne or linebacker Devin Lloyd. The team's brass can now try to get a deal done with both of them before free agency or brace for their eventual departure.
Either way, the Jags decided that using the franchise tag was going to be cost-prohibitive. The downside is that they're at risk of losing two core players when free agency begins.
The Jaguars didn't use the franchise tag on either Travis Etienne or Devin Lloyd
Had the Jaguars tagged Travis Etienne, they would've had to pay him a guaranteed $14.293 million to keep him in 2026. On the other hand, the tag for Devin Lloyd would've cost $$26.865 million, also guaranteed.
When you take into account that the Jags are $15.9 million as of this writing, it wouldn't make sense to use the tag on either Etienne or Lloyd.
Moreover, there were no signs that Jacksonville plans to keep Lloyd. After a breakout season, he's ready to test free agency and cash in. He's projected to be in demand and get an annual salary of around $15 million. That amount simply doesn't fit the team's budget.
On the other hand, Etienne won't come cheap — Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated believes he'll get a nice payday — but the Jags could give him an extension that pays him a big signing bonus and defers the largest cap hits to future years. This is a long-winded way to say that the team's brass could get creative to hold onto the 2021 first-round pick.
With the deadline to use the franchise tag in the books, though, the pressure is mounting on the Jaguars to re-sign either Lloyd or Etienne. But if they leave as expected, Bhayshul Tuten and Ventrell Miller will take a stab at replacing them.
Both Tuten and Miller showed starting potential when they were thrust into action last year. So even if the Jaguars add reinforcements in free agency or the draft, they'll get a legitimate chance to compete for a starting job.
The Jaguars have other pending free agents aside from Travis Etienne and Devin Lloyd
Keep in mind that Travis Etienne and Devin Lloyd are far from the only players the Jaguars need to worry about. Aside from those two, the front office will also have to make decisions on safety Andrew Wingard, linebacker Dennis Gardeck, and cornerbacks Greg Newsome and Montaric Brown, among others.
Ideally, the Jags would love to bring all of them back. The issue is that the math doesn't work. In fact, general manager James Gladstone will have to rework several deals and turn to the draft to address most of the team's needs.
Granted, Jacksonville will likely hunt for bargains, but it's hard to see them bring back many of their pending free agents. The fact that they opted not to use the franchise tag on Etienne or Lloyd is proof of that.