A report earlier this week suggested that the Giants are planning to use their franchise tag on Jason Pierre-Paul by March 2 if a longer-term deal can’t be reached, and signs continue to point toward that outcome. According to Jordan Raanan of NJ.com (via Twitter), the Giants and JPP still haven’t discussed a multiyear contract. Dan Graziano of ESPN.com tweets that the team has met with the representatives for several of its own free agents at the combine in Indianapolis, but not Pierre-Paul’s agent, which Graziano sees as “telling.”
I would think that the Giants will at least explore the possibility of a long-term contract with Pierre-Paul before using the tag on him, but if they don’t, they’d still have the opportunity to discuss a new deal later. Even if JPP were to immediately accept and sign the one-year franchise tender, the two sides would have until July 15 to work on a multiyear extension, per our list of important offseason dates.
Franchise salaries for the coming year have not yet been set, but that should happen in about a week, when the NFL announces the salary cap for the 2015 season. A year ago, the franchise tag for a defensive end cost $13.116MM, making it the second-most expensive position to tag — only quarterbacks, at $16.912MM, were more expensive. For ’15, that DE figure will likely rise to $14MM+.