As expected, the Jacksonville Jaguars slapped a franchise tag on superstar edge rusher Josh Allen on Tuesday, preventing him from hitting the free-agent market.
The Jaguars will not have until the middle of July to reach a long-term deal with Allen, and general manager Trent Baalke says that is exactly what the club plans on doing.
“We were not able to reach an agreement on a contract extension with Josh before today’s deadline, and thus, we have tagged him,” Baalke said in a statement, via Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk. “We certainly value Josh’s leadership on the field, in the locker room and in the community. Our objective to keep Josh in Jacksonville in the coming years remains unchanged and negotiations will continue.”
Allen’s tag will pay him a tick over $24 million in 2024, but if Jacksonville can strike a multi-year pact with the pass rusher, it would lower his number for next season.
The 26-year-old is coming off of a brilliant 2023 campaign in which he played every game and racked up 66 tackles, 17.5 sacks, an interception, a couple of forced fumbles and eight passes defended en route to his second Pro Bowl appearance.
Allen, who played his collegiate football at the University of Kentucky, was selected by the Jags with the seventh overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft.
He burst on to the scene during his rookie campaign, rattling off 31 tackles, 10.5 sacks and a pair of forced fumbles in 16 contests, earning a trip to the Pro Bowl.
Injuries limited him to just eight games in his sophomore year, and the ensuing two seasons, Allen’s production stagnated, as he registered 7.5 and then seven sacks in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
However, Allen’s monster campaign this past year has set him up for a huge pay day, and the Jaguars seem willing to give it to him.
We’ll see in the coming weeks and months if the two sides are able to reach common ground. If not, Josh Allen could become a trade candidate later this offseason.
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