Feb 1, 2025; Orlando, FL, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) throws the ball during NFC Practice for the Pro Bowl Games at Camping World Stadium.

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Franchise Tag 2025: Higgins, Darnold, And Trey Smith Leading Candidates

Will the Bengals franchise tag Tee Higgins for a second year running?

Feb 1, 2025; Orlando, FL, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) throws the ball during NFC Practice for the Pro Bowl Games at Camping World Stadium.

Work for the upcoming NFL season has already gotten underway with teams making changes to their front office, and coaching staff. The focus will now shift towards the franchise tag as teams will have a chance to franchise tag one player they would like to keep on the roster. Free agency is about to start and franchises will now weigh their options and decide which players to keep and which ones can be let go.

Tagging a player gives teams that are in favor of signing their players to a long-term deal but aren’t able to do so due to ongoing negotiations more time to get the job done. If however, both parties cannot meet on common ground, the team can still retain the services of the said player for another year. NFL insider, Adam Schefter’s social media post reads: “Tag time: Starting today through Tuesday, March 4, teams can designate Franchise or Transition Players.

It is expected to be a quiet tag cycle, with minimal tag options:

Bengals WR Tee Higgins

Vikings QB Sam Darnold or CB Byron Murphy Jr.

Chiefs G Trey Smith”.

Tag time: Starting today through Tuesday, March 4, teams can designate Franchise or Transition Players.

It is expected to be a quiet tag cycle, with minimal tag options:
🏈Bengals WR Tee Higgins
🏈Vikings QB Sam Darnold or CB Byron Murphy Jr.
🏈Chiefs G Trey Smith pic.twitter.com/fJGZHGU9Px
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 18, 2025

Top Candidates Who May Receive The Tag

While there will be several other players on teams who may receive the franchise tag, the leading candidates for this year are as follows:

Tee Higgins – Wide Receiver – Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals find themselves in a precarious position as they need to keep a hold of as many of their stars as possible if they want to get back to winning ways. Quarterback Joe Burrow sits on a massive contract and wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase is in line for a huge extension as well.

The question in front of the Bengals now is whether or not to tag WR2 Tee Higgins who has been a big asset to the team. Cincinnati would like to give Burrow another year if not more with Chase and Higgins as they try to replicate their 2021 season when they reached the Super Bowl. In all likelihood, it seems rather difficult for Cincinnati to keep all their stars unless they can find a way to restructure Burrow’s contract.

Sam Darnold – Quarterback – Minnesota Vikings

When the Vikings signed Darnold last season after letting former quarterback Kirk Cousins leave and drafting J.J. McCarthy as their franchise quarterback, nobody expected Darnold to have the type of career resurgence that he did. Darnold looked like a completely different player in the Vikings offense, especially with receivers such as Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison to throw to.

After starting all 17 games, Darnold threw for a career-best 4,319 and 35 touchdowns, leading the team to a 14-3 record and narrowly missing out on a bye in the first round of the playoffs. Tagging Darnold has its benefits as Minnesota can leverage him if they can find a suitable trade partner. There are quite a few teams who would be looking for a new quarterback and this year’s draft is considered to be less than ideal with the exception of Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders.

Byron Murphy Jr. – Cornerback – Minnesota Vikings

Cornerback, Byron Murphy Jr. is coming off a stellar season being awarded with his first Pro Bowl selection. But, with his contract up and after having a career year, Murphy’s stock has risen quite a bit.

Minnesota could use their franchise tag on the corner while they try to get a long-term deal done all the while keeping him off the market. Another possibility is to follow the path of the Kansas City Chiefs when they tagged their former corner L’Jarius Sneed before trading him away to the Titans.

Also Read: George Kittle in the last year of his contract. Will the 49ers extend him?

Trey Smith – Guard – Kansas City Chiefs

Coming off a devastating loss in the Super Bowl where the Cheifs’ offensive line got decimated at the hands of the Eagles’ D-line, Kansas City still has a decision to make regarding the future of guard Trey Smith. Even though the Chiefs received a beat-down in the Super Bowl, it was more so due to the makeshift O-line by the Chiefs’ coaching staff.

In an ideal situation, the Chiefs’ interior of Joe Thuney, Creed Humphrey, and Trey Smith has done a fine job protecting Patrick Mahomes and it will be difficult to replace Smith if he were to leave in free agency. Kansas City would ideally like to sign Smith to a long-term deal but if that doesn’t come to fruition, then tagging him could be the next best option.

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Sam Darnold

Tee Higgins

Trey Smith

Devavrat Kulkarni

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I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!