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NFL Free Agency 2021: Top Candidates to Receive the Franchise Tag Next Offseason

After 4 p.m. ET Wednesday, NFL teams will no longer be able to sign franchise-tagged players to long-term extensions. Those players will either play on the tag in 2020 or won't play at all.

With that deadline looming, this feels like a perfect time to look ahead to next offseason and the pending free agents who are most likely to get tagged.

Here, you'll find a look at key players scheduled to hit the open market in 2021 and whose contract situations could make the use of the tag sensible. Factors like a potentially high market demand, possible prove-it scenarios and other pending free agents will be considered.