Seahawks gained big by franchising Frank Clark

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The Seahawks have known even before trading defensive end Frank Clark to the Chiefs on Tuesday that it was going to be tough to keep their defensive core together beyond this year. In fact, it’s fair to wonder whether the Seahawks ever really thought there was going to be a chance of keeping Clark, or whether franchising him was always going to be a first step toward a trade.

If that’s what it was, the Seahawks benefited greatly from it: If Clark had simply left in free agency, all the Seahawks would have received was a compensatory pick at the end of the third round of the 2020 NFL draft. Instead, they got the Chiefs’ first-round pick this year and second-round pick next year by trading Clark.

That raises the question of why more teams don’t tag the free agents who are good enough that they could be traded to another team for something better than the compensatory pick they would yield. The Patriots, for instance, could have tagged Trey Flowers rather than just let him walk to the Lions for a five-year, $90 million contract. The Giants could have tagged Landon Collins before letting him leave for Washington on a six-year, $84 million contract. If Detroit and Washington liked those players enough to give up that kind of money for them, it’s highly likely they also would have been willing to trade at least a 2020 third-round pick for them, which means the Patriots and Giants would have received something better than the compensatory pick they’ll get.

So why didn’t teams like the Patriots and Giants use the franchise tag for players like Flowers and Collins? It may be because they’re honoring the spirit of the franchise tag rules: The franchise tag is supposed to be for teams to keep the players they really want to keep, not for teams to squat on players’ rights to trade them. But although it’s admirable to honor the spirit of the rules, there’s really nothing stopping teams from using the franchise tag just to facilitate a trade.

Teams may also worry that franchised players will call their bluffs: Le'Veon Bell decided just to sit out the year in 2018, rather than sign the franchise tag with the Steelers. Any other franchised player could do the same.

But realistically, few will. Sitting out an entire year is an awfully expensive way to take a stand. Teams with a talented player reaching the end of his contract can usually come out ahead by using the franchise tag, whether that means keeping the player in town or trading him elsewhere.