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Patriots might be ready to use franchise tag on Hightower or Bennett

The franchise tag window opens today, and with it comes a whole host of possibilities for the Patriots.

In the next two weeks, the Pats will choose whether to place a franchise tag on anyone. The last time they did it was in 2015, tagging kicker Stephen Gostkowski.

As it stands now, the two candidates they’d likely consider using it on are linebacker Dont’a Hightower and tight end Martellus Bennett. Both are set to hit free agency after serving important roles on the Pats’ Super Bowl LI championship team.

Teams can use several options for the tag.