As the Kansas City Chiefs decide what they are going to do with Dwayne Bowe and a franchise tag of their own with Brandon Carr also to consider, another team facing a similar conundrum with their top wide receiver has decided to reportedly leave the tag out of it.
“A league source told The Buffalo News that Johnson isn’t expecting to receive the franchise tag from the Bills and despite swapping contract proposals recently the two sides are far apart on negotiations,” reports Rodney McKissic. “The franchise tag option hasn’t been discussed during negotiations with Johnson, the source told The News. Johnson’s agent, C.J. LaBoy, was unavailable for comment.”
That’s an interesting development for a team that has shown signs of life, including a blistering start to last season, and yet needs to turn the corner. The Bills passing game took a while to develop a top target for Ryan Fitzpatrick, so if they let him walk, it will be intriguing to see what they do.
The Saints are another team to consider what to do with their own wide receiver in Marques Colston. They have a franchise tag available, but they’re also dealing with Pro Bowl guard Carl Nicks and a guy named Drew Brees. The Chiefs will likely watch what the Bills are doing and others to see how the market will shift. Each team has until 4pm ET on March 5 to turn in their franchise plans to the league.