With the Kansas City Chiefs defeating the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35 in Super Bowl 57, all 32 teams have begun preparations for the 2023 offseason. Similar to the 2022 NFL offseason, they will be numerous major player additions this offseason, either through free agency or the 2023 NFL draft. Although the Jaguars (9-8), Dolphins (9-8), and Buccaneers (8-9) all made the 2022-2023 NFL Playoffs, each team has plenty of positional needs and important pending free agents to deal with. In spite of this, all three Florida teams will enter the 2023 offseason with negative cap space, making the addition of talent much more challenging.
Luckily, Jacksonville, Miami, and Tampa Bay all have the 2023 franchise tag at their disposals, which will be able to be used, regardless of cap space. By utilizing the franchise tag, teams give themselves an extra year of service time from whichever player they assign it to. Once teams apply the franchise tag, they have a short window with which to agree to a contract extension. With this said, these are the most likely players on Jacksonville, Miami, and Tampa Bay that will receive the franchise tag*.
*Note: The NFL recently announced the 2023 values for the non-exclusive franchise tenders at each position, which are as follows:
| Position | Franchise Tag | Transition Tag |
| QB | $32,416,000 | $29,504,000 |
| LB | $20,926,000 | $17,478,000 |
| WR | $19,743,000 | $17,991,000 |
| DE | $19,727,000 | $17,452,000 |
| DT | $18,937,000 | $16,068,000 |
| OL | $18,244,000 | $16,660,000 |
| CB | $18,140,000 | $15,791,000 |
| S | $14,460,000 | $11,867,000 |
| TE | $11,345,000 | $9,716,000 |
| RB | $10,091,000 | $8,429,000 |
| ST | $5,393,000 | $4,869,000 |
Jacksonville Jaguars: Tight End Evan Engram
Following a disappointing five-year tenure in New York, Engram entered unrestricted free agency with his stock at an all-time low. Due to this, Engram decided to sign a one-year, $9 million contract with Jacksonville during the 2022 offseason in hopes of rebuilding his reputation as an emerging tight end. As it turns out, the 2022-2023 season couldn’t have gone better for Engram, who served as one of Trevor Lawrence’s top pass catchers. In 17 games (14 starts) this season, Engram caught 73 passes for a career-high 766 receiving yards, four receiving touchdowns, and a 74.5% catch rate. In addition, Engram played in a career-high 868 snaps while recording a career-best 465 yards after the catch (YAC), which highlights his improved health after suffering multiple lower-body injuries as part of the Giants.
Coupled with Engram’s reliability as a pass-catcher and a bounceback season from Lawrence, Jacksonville won the NFC South Division Title and their first playoff game since 2017, mounting a remarkable 27-point comeback versus Los Angeles. In that game, Engram recorded seven receptions for 92 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown, all team highs. As it currently stands, Jaguars’ General Manager Trent Baalke is very interested in retaining Engram, who is also intrigued with a multi-year deal in Jacksonville.
“Obviously, we would love to have Evan [Engram] back,” Jaguars’ General Manager Baalke said. “Evan and I visited [Monday], and he went around the building and visited with everybody. I think it’s mutual. Now we got to make it happen. That’s something that we’re going to work on with Evan, and all the other free agents that we have. We have a list of them that we got to mow down one at a time.”
According to Over The Cap, Jacksonville is projected to have -$22.7 million cap space, the fourth fewest amount in the NFL. With this said, Jacksonville is able to save plenty of money by cutting other players ahead of the June First deadline. The most notable savings would come from cutting veteran cornerback Shaquill Griffin, who would save Jacksonville $13.1 million, per Over The Cap. If anything, using the $11.3 million franchise tag on Engram would give Jacksonville a year to create cap space to ink Engram to a respectable free agent deal, such as a three-year, $41 million contract (sixth-highest contract among tight ends).
Miami Dolphins: Outside Linebacker Elandon Roberts
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In his third season with Miami and seventh overall, Roberts had his best season to date, even at 28 years old. In 17 starts as one of the Dolphins’ outside linebackers, Roberts recorded 107 total tackles (68 solos, 39 assists), 10 tackles for loss (TFL), 4.5 sacks, and six quarterback hits (QBH), all career-highs. Roberts’ ability to disrupt the opposing team’s rushing attack was well appreciated in Miami, as the Dolphins gave up 1,751 rushing yards (sixth in NFL) and 103.0 rushing yards per game (fourth in NFL) to their opponents.
In spite of Roberts’ unexpected success during the 2022-2023 season, linebacker isn’t a position that Miami needs to address this offseason. For reference, the Dolphins already have Jerome Baker, Andrew Van Ginkel, Jaelan Phillips, Bradley Chubb, Melvin Ingram, and Trey Flowers, along with 2022 third-round pick Channing Tindall. In addition, Miami is severely over the cap for this offseason, at -$16.3 million, or seventh-fewest in the NFL.
Similar to Jacksonville, Miami has the ability to create cap space by cutting players before June First. Between guard Connor Williams ($5.0 M savings), tight end Durham Smythe ($3.4 M savings), cornerback Keion Crossen ($3.1 M savings), fullback Alec Ingold ($3.0 M savings), and defensive lineman Zach Sieler ($2.9 M savings), the Dolphins can save $14.4 million by cutting those four players before June First. Instead of tagging Roberts for $20.9 million, Miami could use the aforementioned cap space to sign Roberts, who earned just $2.7 million this season.
With respect to Roberts, Miami may decide to tag tight end Mike Gesicki for the second-straight offseason if unable to agree on a standard free agent deal. In his first season under head coach Mike McDaniel, Gesicki managed to catch just 32 passes for 362 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns, a considerable drop-off in production from previous seasons. Simply put, Gesicki just doesn’t fit in McDaniel’s run-centric offensive scheme, but by tagging Gesicki, Miami may be able to acquire draft capital from a tight-end needy team via trade.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Cornerback Jamel Dean
There’s no doubt that the 2023 offseason is extremely crucial for Tampa Bay, which has an influx of pending free agents and seemingly endless amounts of positional needs. As of February 23rd, Tampa Bay has 22 pending free agents, most of which played a considerable role for the Buccaneers this past season. From a financial standpoint, Tampa Bay is expected to lose the majority of those players.
As stated by Over the Cap, Tampa Bay has -$56.5 Million in salary cap space, the fewest in the NFL). Tampa Bay’s lack of spending room goes without the consideration of Tom Brady’s retirement, which holds $35.1 million in dead money. By cutting offensive tackle Donovan Smith ($9.9 M savings), offensive guard Shaq Mason ($5.2 M savings), kicker Ryan Succop ($3.2 M savings), and tight end Cameron Brate ($2.0 M savings) Tampa Bay would receive much-needed cap relief, but it would be complicated to replace Smith and Mason with the No. 19, 50, and 82 picks in the 2023 NFL draft.
Of all of the Buccaneers’ 22 pending free agents, Tampa Bay needs to franchise-tag cornerback Jamel Dean, cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting, or safety Mike Edwards. From a statistical standpoint, Dean, Murphy-Bunting, and Edwards were all key anchors in Tampa Bay’s secondary, combining for 204 total tackles, 23 passes defended, and five interceptions. Of the three players, franchise-tagging Dean appears to be the best move for the Buccaneers.
Standing at 6’1″ and 206 pounds, Dean has the size, skills, and intangibles as a prototypical No. 1 cornerback. In just 15 games, Dean recorded 57 total tackles, eight passes defended, and two interceptions, all career-highs for the former third-round pick (No. 94) in the 2019 NFL draft. Per Sports Reference, opposing quarterbacks had just a 66.2 passer rating targeting Dean this year, or a 47.9% completion rate. While $18.1 million may seem like a steep price to pay, Dean may get even more if he becomes an unrestricted free agent, as the need for a No. 1 cornerback in the NFL is the highest in recent memory.