The franchise tagging deadline has passed and there are officially only two players who won't hit the open market.

Cincinnati Bengals receiver Tee Higgins and Kansas City Chiefs guard Trey Smith were the only two NFL players to receive the franchise tag before Tuesday's deadline. ESPN's Adam Schefter tweeted that Evan Kaplan reported that the total number of two players was the fewest tagged since 1994.

What is the franchise tag? It is a designation teams can apply to a player scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent, and it binds the player to the team for one season. Fran

Let’s face some harsh realities of the NFL! The post Fox Reporter Blames NFL Players for Tee Higgins’ Status Despite Lowest Franchise Tag Utilization in 30Yrs appeared first on EssentiallySports.

The number of franchise tags for NFL players this offseason is way down from last season as it hit a 21-year low.

Here's the latest news and everything you need to know about the first major wave of NFL player movement this spring.

A franchise tag is a one-year deal that keeps a player from entering free agency, which begins on March 12 at 4 p.m. ET. The two sides can continue working on a longer term deal until July 15 at 4 p.m. ET. If extensions aren't agreed upon by then, the player will compete one year under the franchise tag.