Indianapolis Colts franchise tag Michael Pittman: How Twitter reacted

The #Colts are placing the franchise tag on WR Michael Pittman Jr., per sources.

The tag is worth $21.816M. The sides have been working on a long-term deal and those talks figure to continue. pic.twitter.com/T4XLr7hElj

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 5, 2024

Never got the sense the sides were close on a long-term deal leading up to today, so the franchise tag always seemed like the likely option. #Colts make the move, now have until July to do a multi-year deal. https://t.co/ZCpgCP9PLH

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 5, 2024

First time the Colts have used the franchise tag in 11 years.

Last was on @PatMcAfeeShow in 2013 for $2.9 million. And I believe that was because Jim Irsay had no interest in letting McAfee sniff the open market.

— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) March 5, 2024

The #Colts side was optimistic a long term deal would happen what I’ve been told.

Some teams use the tag to just extend the contract another year, that’s not the case here. They are using it to extend their negation window and keep him from speaking with other teams. https://t.co/nFenhudPMX

— Destin Adams (@TheDestinAdams) March 5, 2024