Jaguars Officially Franchise Tag Josh Allen
The Jacksonville Jaguars have officially placed the franchise tag on pass-rusher Josh Allen.
The tag comes after recent efforts by the Jaguars to sign Allen to a long-term deal -- efforts that did not begin until the conclusion of the 2023 season.
With Allen tagged, all expectations are for the Jaguars and his camp to work until the July 15 deadline for franchise tag deals to become multi-year extensions. This is similar to the Jaguars' approach to Evan Engram last year.
The Jaguars have now used the tag in every offseason since 2020, tagging Allen, Engram, Cam Robinson twice, and Yannick Ngakoue. Engram and Robinson signed new deals, while Ngakoue was traded.
"We were not able to reach an agreement on a contract extension with Josh before today's deadline, and thus, we have tagged him," Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke said in a statement.
"We certainly value Josh's leadership on the field, in the locker room and in the community. Our objective to keep Josh in Jacksonville in the coming years remains unchanged and negotiations will continue."
Baalke said at last week's NFL Scouting Combine that he would be meeting with Allen's agent in hopes of making progress on a deal.
"That’s an ongoing discussion we’re having with his agent. In fact, later today I’m going to have another meeting with him as well. Just ongoing," Baalke said.
“I don’t want to speculate on that [the franchise tag]. We’ve got a little over a week to work with here, we’ll work diligently with his agent to try to come to a resolution on this thing, so that’s where our focus is right now.”
Allen played last year on the fifth-year option after no deal was struck during the offseason. Allen went on to have a career season, earning a Pro Bowl nod and setting himself up for a huge pay day in the event the Jaguars let him hit free agency.
"Of course I want to be in Jacksonville. You know, I have a chance to leave a legacy behind," Allen said tin Orlando at the Pro Bowl, via Jamal St. Cyr of WJXT4 in Jacksonville.
"And you know, that's something I wanted to do. I wanted to be with the best defensive player to come out of Jacksonville. And that's everywhere that I go so I got a great opportunity to finish what I started. You know, but at the end of the day I know what comes with the business side of it. So, you know, whatever play out, play out. But, you know, I'd love to be back."
In 17 games this year, Allen recorded 17.5 sacks, a career-high 33 quarterback hits, a career-high 17 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, and an interception. Allen also finished No. 5 among all EDGE players in pressures and No. 7 in win-rate.
Allen, who spent the last three seasons at outside linebacker, will have a $24.007 million price tag -- the second-most expensive tag in the league after the quarterback tag.
