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The Kansas City Chiefs will make their Dwayne Bowe vs. Branden Albert franchise tag decision by Monday, March 4, which is the deadline for teams to use the franchise tag. The CBA states that the franchise tag can be used in a period of 22 and 8 days before the start of the new league year, which begins on March 12.
That puts Monday as the franchise tag deadline. And with the salary cap number settling in, we know how much it would cost for each player.
More exact non-exclusive tag numbers: QB: $14.896M; RB: $8.219M; WR: $10.537M; TE: $6.066M; OL: $9.828M; DT: $8.45M; DE: $11.175M ...
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 1, 2013
... LB: $9.619M; CB: $10.854M; S: $6.916M; K/P: $2.977M.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 1, 2013
Barring any major surprises -- like the Chiefs signing Bowe and/or Albert to a longterm deal -- the tag will go to one of those guys.
As of now, the most popular pick is Dwayne Bowe. Considering the free agent market and the draft, that's probably a wise move.
At offensive tackle, the Chiefs actually have options. There are a couple of left tackles who could be candidates for the Chiefs No. 1 overall pick, including Luke Joeckel. Then there's free agency where Jake Long is expected to hit the market.
The Chiefs have a lot more options at offensive tackle than they do at receiver. Plus, the Alex Smith trade makes receivers all the more important.
Thus, the tag for Bowe makes sense.