Florida Sentinel Bulletin

Baker Mayfield

If the Tampa Bay Buccaneers intend to keep Baker Mayfield, it appears they will have to work out a long-term contract with him, as the franchise tag appears to be off the table.

The Buccaneers appear likely to use their franchise tag on safety Antoine Winfield Jr., according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. If the Buccaneers do use the tag on Winfield, they will owe him roughly $16 million next year unless a long-term deal is agreed to.

It was never particularly likely that the Buccaneers would resort to the franchise tag to keep Mayfield. That would have cost them over $36 million, and would have been a one-year solution. The team remains committed to trying to keep him, and they have shown that commitment in other ways.

 Chris Jones

The Kansas City Chiefs have the option of using the franchise tag on Chris Jones this offseason, but there is one big reason they are unlikely to go that route with the veteran defensive lineman.

While Jones is set to become a free agent next month, the Chiefs recently picked up an option on his contract that allowed them to retain the right to franchise tag the 29-year-old. ESPN’s Adam Schefter said Sunday that the team is unlikely to do that, however.

In most cases, the value of the franchise tag is determined by averaging the top five salaries league-wide at the player’s position. That figure would be just under $20 million for Jones, but his situation is unique since his salary cap hit for 2023 was significantly more than that. Because Jones’ cap number was higher, his franchise tag figure is calculated by taking 120 percent of his previous year’s cap number, which works out to roughly $32 million.

That is why the Chiefs probably will not tag Jones.