The NFL tag deadline is on Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET and the Falcons are potentially invested in a few decisions that will be made. Certainly eyes are in Baltimore with Lamar Jackson, but the Falcons also have their own decision to make regarding OT Kaleb McGary.
The Falcons are certainly discussing a contract extension for McGary, but if they can't agree on a deal, the team has some options to keep McGary a member on the team. One of them being the franchise tag, with a more realistic option being a transition tag.
The difference between the two tags is both exclusivity and cost. A franchise tag would cost the Falcons $18,244,000 to retain McGary's services for a year, while the transition tag would be cheaper, but could potentially end with McGary playing for another team.
A transition tag is more complicated than the franchise tag. It would cost the Falcons less ($16,660,000) but would provide McGary the option to discuss contracts with other teams. If interested they could sign McGary to an offer sheet.
The Falcons would then have the option to either match that offer sheet and keep McGary, or let him leave and receive a pair of first-round picks from the team that adds McGary.
This feels like the perfect choice for the Falcons who would appreciate the lower salary given to McGary and also would feel relatively secure that he'd be back as it seems unlikely another team would be willing to part with two first-round picks.
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