If the Colts are forced to use the franchise tag, should it be placed on Daniel Jones or Alec Pierce?

The Colts have two viable candidates for the franchise tag in Daniel Jones and Alec Pierce, but who should they use it on if it comes to it?

Destin Adams — NFL News Writer
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Colts QB Daniel Jones
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The Indianapolis Colts have some big decisions to make this offseason, and the first big one is coming up quickly.

The NFL’s franchise tag window officially opened today, Tuesday, February 17. Teams now have until Tuesday, March 3, to place the franchise or transition tag on a player who is currently set to become a free agent on March 9 when the NFL’s legal tampering period opens.

The Colts haven’t been a team that’s used the franchise tag often, but they’ve used it when they’ve absolutely had to. The team has two in-house free agents that absolutely have to be retained: Daniel Jones and Alec Pierce. So, if it came to it, which of them would the Colts place the tag on?

The Colts most recent uses of the franchise tag

Who makes the most sense to place the franchise tag on: Daniel Jones or Alec Pierce?

There are multiple reasons I land on Pierce as the one who makes the most sense to receive the franchise tag over Jones. First of all, the price tag is significantly less, with the QB tag expected to be just over $47 million, and the WR tag is just under $29 million.

Secondly, the number of teams the Colts would have to negotiate against to retain Pierce is significantly more. With reports already suggesting that the Dallas Cowboys plan to place the tag on star WR George Pickens, Pierce would be the top WR on the market if the Colts don’t prevent him from becoming a free agent.

The best case scenario for the Colts is not having to use the franchise tag at all

Ideally, the Colts figure out a way to sign both Jones and Pierce without using the tag at all. A standard contract for both would give the team more flexibility to upgrade their roster elsewhere. 

If they are going to pull that off, though, they likely need to sign Jones first and foremost. That would allow the Colts to hold all the cards and ensure Pierce never hits the open marker. Either the two sides can agree on a deal, or the Colts can place the tag on him to give them more time to negotiate a long-term deal to keep him in Indianapolis.

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