The NFL franchise tag deadline passed Tuesday with just two teams using the official tag designation, but the deadline spurred a series of team business dealings nonetheless. Here are five winners and five losers from all the activity around the deadline — and what they mean with the legal tampering window of free agency mere days away:
Winners
J.J. McCarthy’s chance at starting: The 10th overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft hasn’t yet locked up the Minnesota Vikings’ starting quarterback job. But as he plans to return from a training camp meniscus tear that required two surgeries, his path to starting the 2025 season received a bump on Tuesday.