On Monday I asked which New York Jets or New York Giants player the respective teams should use their franchise tag on. At least for the New York Jets, today we know the answer.
The Jets have placed the franchise tag on linebacker David Harris, voted the team's MVP in 2010 after collecting 99 tackles and three sacks. Harris made $550,000 in 2010 in the final year of his rookie contract. Per numbers that were released Monday, the franchise tag means Harris could make $10 million in 2011.
Harris' agent, Brian Mackler, told the Bergen Record that he knew the Jets would use the tag on Harris.
"It’s a procedural move that they had to do," Mackler said, "based on the CBA climate that we’re in. This, in no way, precludes us from our ultimate goal, which is to get David signed to a long-term contract with the Jets."
There are questions, of course, as to the validity of the tag. Its use will have to be approved by the NFL Players Association as part of the current negotiations for a collective bargaining agreement. Under existing rules, however, teams have only until Friday to determine whether or not to use the tag on a potential free agent.
The Giants have not yet tagged a player, though the likely candidate should the Giants choose to use the tag would be running back Ahmad Bradshaw.