Seahawks franchise tag Frank Clark and there was rejoicing

The Seahawks placed the franchise tag on Frank Clark on Monday, per reports. This is a good thing.

Frank Clark has been franchised by the Seahawks. This means Clark will remain in Seattle for at least one more year and make a bit over $17 million. This also means that Seattle can keep negotiating with Clark on a long-term deal. Albert Breer of The MMQB was the first to report the news.

Clark was a must-keep for Seattle. The defensive end either had 13 or 14 sacks in 2018, depending on whether you believe ESPN or Pro Football Reference. Either way, losing that kind of production would have been awful for Seattle. There was little chance of bringing in any other player close to Clark’s abilities.

Seattle was not able to work out a long-term deal with Clark before the franchise tag deadline of Monday. But Clark should be happy either way because he is about to make big bucks. Chances are that he will make even more money beyond 2019.

Using the franchise tag on Clark simply allows the Seahawks more time to work out a deal with Clark for several more years. Pairing Clark with Jarran Reed for three or four more seasons should help Seattle build an even better defense around the two defensive linemen. Losing either is not a good option.

This is only the second time in the John Schneider-Pete Carroll that Seattle has used the franchise tag. The first, and last till now, was back in 2010 when they franchised kicker Olindo Mare within a month of taking over the team. At least if the team is going to use it, they put it on the right player. Next year might be a different issue, however, as Bobby Wagner, Russell Wilson and Reed will all be free agents after the 2019 season.