Only two players receive franchise tag, lowest since ‘94

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The 4 p.m. ET deadline came and went Tuesday with only two NFL players receiving the franchise tag: Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins and Kansas City Chiefs right guard Trey Smith.

The most notable candidate not to be tagged: Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold, who instead will test the open market while the team reportedly works on an offer to bring him back.

Per ESPN, this marked the fewest players on the franchise tag since 1994, when only two got the tag. It’s sharply down from last year’s total of eight players tagged around the league.

Higgins was tagged for the second straight year at $26.2 million, and he and the Bengals will work on a long-term contract between now and the July 15 deadline. Smith was tendered at $23.4 million.

Higgins, 26, played in 12 games in 2024 and caught 10 TD passes with 73 receptions for 911 yards. He has 34 career touchdowns, 330 catches and 4,595 yards in 70 regular-season games since being selected in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

Smith, 25, was a Pro Bowl selection at right guard in 2024 and has started 80 games — 13 in the playoffs — since being selected in the sixth round in 2021.

Darnold, 27, landed in Minnesota last winter on a one-year free agent deal, projected as the Vikings’ interim quarterback, particularly after the team subsequently used a first-round pick on QB J.J. McCarthy.

Darnold won the quarterback job in training camp, during which McCarthy sustained a season-ending right knee injury. In the regular season, Darnold proved to be a revelation, leading the Vikings to a 14-3 record while completing 66.2 percent of his passes for 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns, all career highs. He was intercepted 12 times.

The surprise season earned Darnold a Pro Bowl selection, and he wound up 10th in MVP voting.

–Field Level Media