FanPost

Discussing the use of the franchise tag

In the pre-offseason doldrums, we're really left to scratch our heads, pontificate, prognosticate, and fume over the woulda/coulda/shoulda of last season. The good news is that we're not far from the free agency signing period, followed closely by the NFL Draft.

Getting back to the prognostication, there have been many discussions/posts/arguments about the use of the Franchise Tag. I've been wanting to put a post together about this but being unemployed and spending nearly 100% of my time finding a job has really put a crimp on the amount of time I get to pontificate...prognosticate....ok...you get it.

Jason LaCanfora has put together a great breakdown of the franchise tag landscape as it currently stands. Follow me after the jump for a summary and some quotes if you're too busy to read the article over on the NFL site...

Here's the big discussion that's been taking place on NN: a) will we need to tag anyone and b) (since the answer is, generally, yes) will it be Dashon Goldson or Carlos Rogers?

Here's what LaCanfora has to say:

49ers: A year ago, defensive backs Carlos Rogers and Dashon Goldson were value free agents, guys the 49ers were able to snap up relatively late and pretty cheaply. Both played a strong role in making the defense elite as the team went 13-3. The safety tag is significantly cheaper than the corner tag, however, at $6.2 million, so I suspect the 49ers go that route and work on keeping Rogers on a longer term coming off his Pro Bowl season.

I'm not one to argue with this assessment. Add to that the theme throughout LaCanfora's article that "the corner[back] free agent market is weak" and you get a lot of logical support for his case.

Personally, I think he's got it right but would be interested to see what the rest of you know-it-alls think?

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors.