The Miami Dolphins have a decision to make in a little over 24 hours, as the NFL’s deadline for designating a franchise player comes on Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET.
For Miami, there have really only been two options for the tag this offseason – tight end Mike Gesicki and defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah.
According to Ogbah’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, the two sides have had conversations about Ogbah’s future, but there haven’t been any talks about using the franchise tag to keep him around.
“I’ve had discussions with the Dolphins and the franchise tag hasn’t come up,” Rosenhaus said on Sunday night. “So I think it’s safe to say that that’s something they’re not planning on doing, and it sounds like the more realistic scenario is Emmanuel making it into free agency and us evaluating our options including the Dolphins.”
#Dolphins "NOT LIKELY" to use or offer franchise tag on free agent DE Emmanuel Ogbah (@EmanOgbah) when free agency opens, according to agent, @DrewJRosenhaus . Franchise tag for DE in 2022 is $17,859,000. @wsvn #NFL #FinsUp #NFLTwitter #NFLFreeAgency @DolphinsTalk @ian693 pic.twitter.com/wDAbQ3Jfpo
— Josh Moser (@TheMozKnowz) March 7, 2022
According to Over the Cap, the Dolphins would have guaranteed nearly $20.2 million this season if they would have placed the tag on him. While they have the most cap space in the league, that’s not exactly smart business to spend all of that money like that.
Now, the Dolphins could still re-sign Ogbah and structure his deal in such a way that the cap hits are lower in the first season, allowing for the larger hits to come as the cap continues to climb.
As for the franchise tag, it seems like Gesicki is primed to receive it. They could keep him around for a year on the tag, trade him on it, or use it for more time to work on a long-term deal. At $10.8 million, the cap hit is much more reasonable to work with for the tight end.
