The 2022 edition of NFL free agency is nearly here. The market will officially open at 4 p.m. ET on March 16. Before then, teams will have a two-day window to contact and negotiate with players.
Between now and March 8, several teams will use the franchise tag to prevent key contributors from reaching free agency. Sometimes the tag will quickly lead to a long-term deal, as it did with Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys last offseason, and sometimes it will serve as a one-year stopgap. Either way, it's a valuable, if often costly tool for teams to utilize.