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The run-up to the start of the NFL’s 2026 league year is underway. The new league year begins on Wednesday, March 11th, at which time all teams must be under the salary cap, trades can again be executed, and free agents may begin signing contracts with new teams.
However, a few pieces of the puzzle can fall into place before that date. Free agent negotiations formally start two days earlier, but even before that begins, the market begins to take shape. One way this happens is through teams’ use of franchise and transition tags, a window that runs from February 17 through March 3.
Players receiving one of these tags almost always stay with their previous team for the following season. The tag comes with a one-year contract tender that pays the player the average of the percentage of the salary cap of the top players at his position over the past five years. For the franchise tag, this calculation looks at the top five players in each season, while the transition tag looks at the top ten. Meanwhile, each tag protects the tagging team in different ways; the non-exclusive franchise tag would require another team to give up two first-round picks to sign the player away, while the transition tag gives the tagging team the right of first refusal to match any contract offer received by the player from another team.
Once tagged, players have until mid-July to negotiate a long-term contract; if they do not sign a deal by then, they must play the upcoming season on their one-year contract.
With only a few more days left in the tagging window, a few players have already received the tag, with more sure to come. The Green Bay Packers are not expected to tag any of their free agents-to-be, but some of the tag decisions around the league could have knock-on effects for the green and gold. We will keep track of all of the tags here throughout the coming days to see if and how the decisions around the league will affect the team.
Atlanta Falcons: TE Kyle Pitts
Pitts received the non-exclusive franchise tag from the Falcons on February 24th. According to Overthecap.com’s projections, the tight end franchise tag tender will have a value of roughly $16.3 million for the upcoming season, depending on the final 2026 salary cap number.
This move likely does not impact the Packers in any way, as they neither have any significant free agent tight ends set to depart, nor are they expected to be major players in the free agent tight end market.
Dallas Cowboys: WR George Pickens
The Cowboys tagged Pickens on February 27th, with the non-exclusive franchise tag carrying an expected number of nearly $29 million. Pickens, whom the Cowboys acquired from the Pittsburgh Steelers via trade last offseason, had a breakout year in 2025, posting career-best marks in receptions (93), yards (1,429), and touchdowns (9) en route to Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro honors.
Although Pickens’ tagging was widely expected, it does effectively remove the top free agent wide receiver from the market. That will likely increase the bidding war for the top remaining receivers, one of whom should be Romeo Doubs. If Doubs signs with a team other than the Green Bay Packers, a bigger contract value should equate to a better compensatory draft pick for the Packers.