Seahawks have until Tuesday to make franchise tag decisions

The Seahawks have until Tuesday, March 9th to make a decision of whether to franchise tag players. Chris Carson and Shaquill Griffin are possibilities. Seattle isn’t a team that really ever uses the franchise tag and usually doesn’t overpay for one of their own free agents.

Seattle did franchise tag Frank Clark before the 2019 season but that was only with the thought that he might eventually be traded and, in fact, he was to the Kansas City Chiefs. The trade worked out really for Clark as he won a Super Bowl with the Chiefs but the Seahawks are still seeing how the trade will pan out for them.

According to Sports Illustrated, if Seattle were going to place the tag on Carson or Griffin, Carson would be the less expensive by quite a bit. The expected franchise tag based on a $183 salary cap (the actual cap is still to be announced so the numbers could and likely will change) for a running back is $8.68 million. For a cornerback, the number is $15.10 million.

That nearly $7 million would be almost two Carsons to one Griffin, obviously. Is Carson worth $8.68 million in 2021? I think so. Is Griffin worth $$15.10 million in 2021? I do not think so.

Seahawks have franchise tag decisions to make

Carson also would be a great fit in new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron’s likely scheme. The Rams, where Waldron came from, like running backs who are a bit bigger but can also catch. Carson proved in 2020 that he can be a threat to catch passes out of the backfield. I want Carson in the backfield for the Seahawks in 2021.

Griffin I don’t think has ever shown to be a true number-one shutdown corner. He’s good but he shouldn’t get paid $15 million. That said, some team will probably pay him that much. There are probably teams that would pay Carson $8 million a season too. But Seattle should sign Carson and not Griffin.

The bottom line is that the Seahawks have until Tuesday to make a decision on whether to franchise tag either player. Neither is likely to be, though, which means that likely neither player will be with Seattle in 2021.