Come Monday, the NFL will begin its giant game of tag. That is when the franchise tag period begins. There is expected to be a good amount of franchise tags handed out this season. According to Sporting News, we can expect a record number of free agents slapped with the franchise tag. They come to this theory due to the large number of franchise tags last season combined with nearly every position carrying a lower tag number than last season.

The franchise tagging period lasts approximately two weeks from February 20 to March 5. There are a lot of high-profile players coming up as free agents that teams will exercise their right to slap with the franchise tag to avoid the possibility of losing them as an unrestricted free agent.

The Raiders have several free agents. Chief among them are safety Tyvon Branch and running back Michael Bush. The team will try to sign them both long term but if neither takes a deal, one of them could get the tag.