Bengals put franchise tag on DE Justin Smith
CINCINNATI (AP) - Defensive end Justin Smith, who has led Cincinnati's line in tackles in each of the last five seasons, was designated as the Bengals' franchise player Thursday.
Smith would have become an unrestricted free agent March 2 if he doesn't reach a contract agreement with the Bengals before then. The franchise tag means the Bengals could keep Smith by matching any offer sheet he signed with another team.
If they choose not to match another offer, the Bengals would get the other team's first-round draft picks in 2007 and 2008 as compensation.
He would be guaranteed $8,644,000, the average salary of the top five defensive ends next season.
``This move helps us keep our core players together, and it gives us an opportunity to continue negotiating for a longer-term contract with Justin,'' coach Marvin Lewis.
Smith had 110 tackles in the 2006 season and ranked second on the team in sacks with 7.5. He has played all six of his NFL seasons with Cincinnati.
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Comments (4) Add A Comment
Why do you franchise a guy that's only a slightly better than Average DE? You've just said, "We'll pay you a crap load of money for being OK"...awesome, this is the kind of things that kills your roster for a long time...way to get close to the Top Cincy, and then through injuries, arrests and bad decisions work your way back down the food chain.
Josh
Total Comments (5871)
Terrible decision by Cincy...they will be kicking themselves if Freeney hits the market since they just gave Smith top-5 DE money for a guy who is like Josh said at best slighty above average.
loosemonkeys
Westminster, CO
Total Comments (111)
Since it is only a one year deal and they need all the help they can get....it is not a bad deal
bionichicken
Jefferson City, MO
Total Comments (2)
It's only a 1 year deal if they do not come to terms with him on a multi-year deal. There are 4 possible outcomes from this...1 year deal for almost 9 mil, multi-year deal for a lot of scratch...holdout...or trade.
Josh
Total Comments (5871)
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