It’s that time of the year, where NFL teams put franchise tags on players to avoid the free agent market. This year’s deadline is March 3rd, and we’re expecting many tags being made to avoid free agency, which starts March 11th. Today, the Carolina Panthers announced that they are using their tag on star defensive end Greg Hardy.
Panthers Put Franchise Tag On Greg Hardy
The Franchise tag means that if the Panthers cannot negotiate a long-term deal with Hardy over the next several months, then he can sign the franchise tender offer of an approximately $12.4 million, one-year deal.
The 25-year-old Hardy is entering his fifth season in the NFL. He had a career high 15.0 sacks in 2013, which was also good for third in the entire NFL. Carolina was also second in total defense behind only the Super Bowl Champions Seattle Seahawks, giving up a total of 4820 yards. In a crucial game for the Panthers, when they were looking to win the NFC South Division, he had his best game of the season in Week 17. Hardy had four sacks against the Atlanta Falcons and five solo tackles.
Hardy was a huge reason why the Panthers defense was in top form in 2013. In his last 2 seasons, he’s had 26.0 sacks, more than enough reason to give him the all important franchise tag.
It will be interesting to see how the Panthers handle free agency on both sides of the spectrum. For now, keeping Greg Hardy will certainly benefit the team assuming that he can remain healthy.
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(Stats via espn.com)
