Teams who use the franchise tag are typically trying to buy themselves more time to negotiate a new contract or keep an elite player around for one more year. When you’re not in a position where free agency demands that you keep a player and/or negotiations are souring, there’s just not much in the way of a good reason to use it, given the sometimes prohibitive one year cost of doing so.
As Adnan Ikic wrote this morning, the Falcons have only used the franchise tag three times, and it’s doubtful they’ll use it this year.