We're just weeks away from free agency in the NFL opening up, and the deadline to place the franchise tag is coming up on March 5. The Cowboys, though, are in no hurry to use the franchise tag according to an ESPN Dallas report. The club is reportedly considering placing the tag on Anthony Spencer, who would make just under nine million dollars if he were tagged.
Per Archer, Dallas has only used the franchise tag twice, having used it on Flozell Adams and Ken Hamlin.
That the Cowboys are hesitant is somewhat telling. True, they are trying to work out a long term deal, but the fall back option doesn't seem like it's the franchise tag -- and it shouldn't be. Spencer isn't an indispensable part of the defense. The folks over at Pro Football Focus rank Spencer as the No. 39 free agent this year, saying:
The feeling amongst the PFF staff is that Spencer is a player on the decline. His 2009 seemed to suggest he was ready to break out, but compared to his edge-rushing peers, Spencer doesn't have the kind of burst off the snap to be a team's top threat. A capable No. 2? More than, but unless he can tap that 2009 form, that's all he may ever be.
If Dallas can't come to a deal with Spencer, so be it. There's little sense in wasting nearly nine million dollars in cap room with the franchise tag on Spencer, when he hasn't played that well in the past couple of seasons.