On Monday, the New England Patriots did something surprising — they placed the franchise tag on offensive lineman Joe Thuney.
It’s not that Thuney isn’t worth the tag. It’s just that the Patriots are notoriously loathe to use the tag at all.
Many have speculated that the tag is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this story. Early reports and theories seemed to suggest that Thuney was only getting tagged so the Pats could explore trading him to another team — perhaps for a star wide receiver or tight end.
But as the day progressed, more and more pundits and analysts seemed to shift gears on their line of thinking.