It figures that a guy who’d have no problem with the franchise tag may not get it.
Patriots safety Devin McCourty said last week he’d welcome the player-friendly $9.6-million-or-so one-year contract that goes with being tagged. Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski could end up being the guy sporting the franchise tag.
According to Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com, a greater likelihood exists that the Patriots will tag their kicker over their top safety. Casual fans routinely scoff at the notion that a kicker is a “franchise player,” but kickers who get the franchise tag see a much lower one-year contract offer. For Gostkowski, Reiss estimates that the cash and cap number will be in the range of $4.5 million.
By not tagging McCourty, the Patriots would perhaps set the stage either to pay cornerback Darrelle Revis $20 million to keep him for 2015 (at a cap number of $25 million) or to give Revis a big-money extension. It’s hard to imagine the Patriots letting McCourty hit the market if they also plan to release Revis before his compensation for 2015 becomes fully guaranteed.
