The New England Patriots have until 4:00 p.m. ET today to use the franchise or transition tag on one of their players about to enter unrestricted free agency next month. While the club has 17 men to choose from, only three — defensive edge Trey Flowers, offensive tackle Trent Brown, kicker Stephen Gostkowski — qualify as realistic candidates to be tagged one way or the other. However, it appears as if one of the trio is out of the running.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Patriots will likely not use the tag on their kicker:
While the #Patriots have not ruled out the franchise tag today, it likely won’t be on K Stephen Gostkowski.