Seahawks, unsurprisingly, don’t use franchise tag on deadline day

The Seahawks have only tagged players twice under John Schneider.

Tuesday was the deadline for teams to place franchise tags on impending free agents, and as expected, the Seattle Seahawks decided not to play any game of tag.

Only seven players received tags on Tuesday, one of whom had the rare transition tag.

• EDGE Josh Allen – Jacksonville Jaguars
• WR Michael Pittman Jr – Indianapolis Colts
• EDGE Brian Burns – Carolina Panthers
• DT Justin Madubuike – Baltimore Ravens
• CB Jaylon Johnson – Chicago Bears
• S Antoine Winfield Jr – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• S Kyle Dugger – Transition tag – New England Patriots

Kansas City Chiefs cornerback L’Jarius Sneed and Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins were tagged earlier in the offseason, although it’s likely that Sneed will be traded by the Super Bowl champions.

Dugger’s transition tag means that he can negotiate with other teams, but unlike the non-exclusive franchise tag, if a team wants to offer Dugger a contract and the Patriots don’t match, New England doesn’t get two first-round picks in compensation.

From Seattle’s standpoint, the only players who would’ve theoretically had even a slim chance of getting tagged were linebacker Jordyn Brooks and defensive lineman Leonard Williams. Tagging Brooks would’ve meant a jump to $24 million on a non-exclusive franchise tag, and Williams would’ve been north of $35 million because he’s been tagged twice before. Perhaps Noah Fant could’ve had a shot at $12.7 million, but I doubt Seattle ever made any considerations.

The Seahawks have rarely used the franchise tag under John Schneider. In 2010, the Seahawks tagged kicker Olindo Mare, who was eventually replaced by Stephen Hauschka the following season. Seattle tagged defensive end Frank Clark in 2019, but the Seahawks traded him to the Kansas City Chiefs prior to the NFL Draft.