Patriots Place Franchise Tag On Joe Thuney
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Patriots will be using their franchise tag on Joe Thuney.
Roughly a half-hour before the franchise tag deadline, Thuney's agent tweeted that the team will place the tag on Thuney.
The 27-year-old Thuney was set to become a free agent, after finishing up his fourth NFL season with a spot on the NFL's All-Pro Second Team. The left guard has been an ironman for the Patriots, having started in played in all 64 regular-season games and 10 playoff games since the team drafted him with the 78th overall pick (third round) in 2016.
In fact, Thuney has played nearly every single snap since entering the league, having missed zero snaps in his first three years and taking 99 percent of the offensive snaps in 2019. (He missed six snaps at Miami and four at the Jets.)
Thuney also had zero penalties called on him in 2019. He had been called for 10 penalties as a rookie, three penalties in his second season, and five penalties in 2018. He also earned the highest PFF grade (77.4) of his career in 2019.
Thuney had been playing on his rookie deal, which paid him $3.2 million over his first four years in the league.
The franchise tag will have him make $14.78 million in 2020. Despite the application of the tag, the Patriots could still trade Thuney. The team could also negotiate a long-term deal with Thuney.
The Athletic's Jeff Howe said that a trade is a possibility, though not a certainty.
Rumors during the week of the NFL Combine indicated that a double-digit number of teams were going to try to pursue Thuney, so the Patriots may not have difficulty finding a trade partner, if that is the team's planned route.
Later on Monday, the Patriots released the following statement: "Joe has been a model teammate and an essential element to our success since joining our team in 2016. Utilizing the franchise designation allows both sides more time to try to reach the goal of a long-term agreement."
