The one-week window for NFL teams to designate franchise or transition players starts Tuesday.
In the past, the Patriots haven’t been opposed to tagging one of their important unrestricted free agents and either living with the tag rate of compensation for a year, or using it to buy time toward an extension. Since Bill Belichick took over in 2000, the Pats have used the tag nine times.
Last year saw them hit Stephen Gostkowski with a tag before a deal was eventually struck in July (four years, $17.2 million, $10.1 million in guarantees) making him the highest paid kicker in the league.