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The Los Angeles Rams and general manager Les Snead have not used the franchise tag in recent years. While they used it in back-to-back years on cornerback Trumaine Johnson and then on Lamarcus Joyner, they have not used it since. With left tackle Alaric Jackson set to hit free agency, the Rams will need to decide whether or not they should use the tag on Jackson as a ‘prove it’ type deal or until they can come up with a long-term solution.
If the Rams do use the franchise tag, Jackson is the lone player that would even be in consideration. Other free agents such as Bobby Brown III, Michael Hoecht, etc. will command far less than the franchise tag. For example, the franchise tag for a defensive lineman is $24-million. Brown will command far less than that price tag in free agency as will other Rams players set to become available.
What this really comes down to is how the Rams value Jackson and where they believe other teams around the league will value him. Jackson is the youngest left tackle set to hit free agency and may be the second-best tackle available outside of Ronnie Stanley. That could increase Jackson’s value. His current market value according to Spotrac is $15.97-million per year while PFF has his contract value at an average of $14.5-million.
The current value of the franchise tag for an offensive lineman is projected to be $25.16-million. If the Rams opted for the transition tag which would allow Jackson to negotiate with other teams, but they could match any offer, it would be $22.75-million.
Again, it all depends on how the Rams view Jackson. Ideally, they are able to bring him back for around $15-million to $18-million per year. The franchise tag and transition tag are significantly higher than that and there is no flexibility with the cap number. However, it also guarantees that Jackson is back in 2025.
The question here is how other teams will view Jackson. A team in need of a left tackle may want to sign him for top-seven or top-eight left tackle contract. That would put Jackson upwards of $20-million. Jackson isn’t on the same level of Jordan Mailata who got $22-million per year last offseason. However, given the inflation of contracts in free agency, Jackson could see somewhere around $18.5-million and $20.5-million given his age and the fact that he is a starting caliber left tackle.
Whether the Rams bring back Jackson will be the second-biggest turning point of the offseason, with the first being Matthew Stafford’s situation. The Rams are going to have a price on Jackson and they will be unlikely to go past that number. At that point, they might as well pursue Ronnie Stanley. While the franchise tag will be an option, it is unlikely and ill-advised. Jackson’s value isn’t close to where the franchise tag is and the Rams need to have some flexibility with their cap. If the Rams are able to retain...
