What Pats’ franchise tag history can tell us about J.C. Jackson’s future originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Which path should the New England Patriots take with J.C. Jackson? They have two weeks to make up their minds.
The window for NFL teams to use their franchise tag opened Tuesday and runs through March 8. Jackson is one of several NFL stars eligible for the tag: The Patriots can pay their star cornerback a projected $17.5 million to play on the franchise tag in 2022. If they don’t, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent on March 16, assuming they don’t sign him to a new deal.
So, how likely is it that New England tags Jackson? Since head coach/general manager Bill Belichick arrived in 2000, the Patriots have used their franchise tag 10 times. They’ve only used it twice in the last nine years, however, and have only tagged one other cornerback during Belichick’s tenure.
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