Patriots now know how much it would cost to franchise-tag Kyle Dugger, Michael Onwenu

The NFL informed its teams of its salary cap figures on Friday.

The New England Patriots have not used the franchise tag on one of their pending free agents since the 2020 offseason, and only twice total over the last decade. However, it might just come in handy this year: the team currently has 16 players headed for unrestricted free agency, including some potential long-term building blocks.

Of those, two in particular appear to be potential candidates to get franchise-tagged before the window closes on March 5: safety Kyle Dugger and offensive lineman Michael Onwenu. With the NFL releasing its 2024 salary cap information on Friday, the Patriots now know how much it would cost to tag one of the two.

In Dugger’s case, the team would have to invest $17.123 million. Onwenu, on the other hand, would command a $20.985 million salary cap charge to be kept via the franchise tag.

Dugger, 28, has developed into a cornerstone player in the New England secondary since his arrival as a second-round draft pick in 2020. While he is a bit on the older side for a first-time free agent, but has proven himself one of the better safeties in football and a player worthy a long-term investment.

Onwenu, 26, has played starter-level football at both guard and tackle, making him one of the most intriguing offensive lineman to enter the market this year. The Patriots, themselves an O-line-needy team, could use the tag to prevent others from making a run at him — a move that might be necessary if rumors are to be believed.

As for the rest of the Patriots’ free agents — those less likely to get tagged — their franchise tag numbers will look as follows in 2024:

• Quarterback: $38.801 million
• Linebacker: $24.007 million
• Defensive tackle: $22.102 million
• Wide receiver: $21.816 million
• Defensive end: $21.324 million
• Offensive line: $20.985 million
• Cornerback: $19.802 million
• Safety: $17.123 million
• Tight end: $12.693 million
• Running back: $11.951 million
• Kicker/Punter: $5.984 million

Basically speaking, the franchise tag is a fully guaranteed one-year contract that is employed to keep an unrestricted free agent from entering the open market. Each NFL team can only use the tag once per offseason, however; if the Patriots opted to use it on Dugger, for example, they cannot also tag Onwenu.

The last player to get tagged in New England was guard Joe Thuney in 2020. He played the entire season on the team, but left the following offseason as a free agent.