Should Seahawks consider using franchise tag on FS Quandre Diggs?
Feb 26, 2022, 10:19 AM
Seahawks free safety Quandre Diggs runs with the ball after he intercepted a pass against the San Francisco 49ers. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
The Seahawks have a number of key players set to hit free agency, but perhaps no player is currently better or more on his game than free safety Quandre Diggs.
Heaps: How Hawks should address D-line in draft and free agency
Diggs, 29, is coming off back-t0-back Pro Bowl seasons for the Seahawks, and since he joined the team midway through 2019, Diggs has thrived with 13 interceptions in 38 regular season games.
Throwing near Diggs: inadvisable 🤫#ProBowlVote @qdiggs6
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— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) December 5, 2021
Now, Diggs is set to be one of the top defensive playmakers in the upcoming free agency cycle.
While there’s a possibility that Diggs leaves the Seahawks for another team, there’s a way the Seahawks can ensure that Diggs is with the team for at least the 2022 season.
That’s because the Seahawks could opt to use the franchise tag on Diggs, which would give the star safety a one-year, $13.5 million deal that is fully guaranteed, per OverTheCap. Diggs would then be able to play out the 2022 season on that deal, or he and the Seahawks could negotiate a long-term deal while each side knows the safety will be with the team for at least the 2022 season.
Should the Seahawks consider going that route? Here’s what former NFL quarterback Jake Heaps had to say during 710 ESPN Seattle’s Jake and Stacy on Tuesday.
“If you don’t feel like you can get Quandre Diggs in the open market, that you’re not willing to match his money that he wants, then I could absolutely see the Seahawks taking that route,” Heaps said. “Do I think that’s ultimately what’s going to happen? No, and it should not happen.”
Since Pete Carroll and John Schneider began running the Seahawks in 2010, they’ve only used the franchise tag twice. That’s not the only reason Heaps doesn’t think Diggs will get tagged.
“Quandre Diggs should be signed to a multi-year deal,” Heaps said. “It’s in the best interest of this organization. It’s in the best interest, I believe, for Quandre Diggs. Now Quandre Diggs is a great player and he can do great things in any organization that he wants to go in. But when you have home, when you know what home is and it fits like a glove for you, honestly, that is the best situation to be in. And Quandre Diggs has found that here in Seattle.”
Heaps believes Diggs wants to remain in Seattle for the foreseeable future, which should help him and the Seahawks come to terms on a new deal.
“They both want to to come together and have a clear resolution to this contract,” Heaps said. “And I think it’s really important that they get this deal done. So I don’t believe at the end of the day that they will franchise tag Quandre Diggs. But if they get into negotiations here and the Seahawks feel like Quandre Diggs’ asking price is way above what they want and they’re afraid to lose him, then I could see the franchise tag being used in that situation.”
Listen to the second hour of Tuesday’s Jake and Stacy at this link or in the player below.
