Jamison Hensley, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Franchise tag will be option for Ravens next year

The two-week window for NFL teams to use the franchise tag begins Monday, and the Baltimore Ravens aren't expected to tag anyone this year.

It would mark the first time that the Ravens have gone a three-year period without using the franchise tag since 2005-07. The franchise tag keeps players from becoming unrestricted free agents by tendering them one-year deals worth the average of the top-5 salaries for that player's position.

This year, there's not enough value for the Ravens to use the tag on pending free agents such as Torrey Smith (projected $12.8 million tag for wide receivers), Pernell McPhee ($13.9 million for defensive end-linebacker hybrid) or Justin Forsett (projected $10.9 million tag for running backs). Plus, the Ravens don't have enough cap room to use the tag even if they wanted to do so.

There should be plenty of drama next year about this time on whether the Ravens will use the tag. Unless extensions or new contracts are reached, there are three potential candidates to receive the franchise tag in 2016: cornerback Jimmy Smith, guard Marshal Yanda and kicker Justin Tucker.

A team can only use the tag on one player per year, so there will be some good debate if Smith, Yanda and Tucker are all pending free agents next offseason. All three would be among the top available players at their positions in 2016.

The Ravens picked up the fifth-year option on Smith in April to keep him from becoming a free agent this year. He will make $6.898 million this year, and he could increase his value even more if he can come back from a season-ending foot injury. Last year, Smith was not optimistic about getting an extension from the Ravens.

Yanda will earn $5.5 million as he enters the final season of his five-year, $32 million contract. It makes a lot of sense for the Ravens and Yanda to reach an extension before the start of free agency, which begins March 10.

The Ravens have until that March 10 date to determine how much they want to protect Tucker, a restricted free agent. A second-round tender, which is expected to be worth $2.4 million, should keep other teams from pursuing the most accurate kicker in NFL history.

But those decisions are 12 months away. For now, the priority for the Ravens is to create salary-cap room so they can sign their free agents this year.

Here is the Ravens' history with the franchise tag. The last four Ravens players who received the tag were eventually signed to long-term deals.

1998: OL Wally Williams

2003-04: CB Chris McAlister

2008-09: LB Terrell Suggs

2011: DT Haloti Ngata

2012: RB Ray Rice

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