2022 Franchise Tags: Brown, Njoku, Bates

NFL Offseason – Here’s our annual thread for discussing all the franchise tag decisions, which need to be made before Tuesday at 4pm Eastern time. The first announced franchise tag goes to Kansas City left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., who made his third Pro Bowl last year in his first season with the Chiefs after a trade from the Baltimore Ravens.

Cleveland tight end David Njoku is a somewhat surprising franchise tag. He had 475 receiving yards last year, which didn’t even put him in the top 20 for tight ends. Njoku has been negotiating a long-term extension with the Browns so this tag may just be a placeholder until they can finish that deal.

Cincinnati has tagged star safety Jessie Bates III.