Franchise and Transition Tag Deadline: Ten Days Left

The Oakland Raiders have some decisions to make in the very near future. The deadline to impose the franchise tag or transition tag -- you can only each tag once per year now though there is a catch -- is looming being just 10 days away. February 25 is fast approaching and the Raiders have unsurprisingly remained noncommittal up to this point even though reports have stated that the Raiders won't let their guys get away, or at least they don't want to.

Players in limbo on this whole thing are kicker Sebastian Janikowski and defensive end Richard Seymour. If a long-term can't be reached for either player, what should Oakland do?

Being the best kicker in the league, the Raiders would obviously love to keep Sebastian Janikowski around for some years to come with that powerful leg. If the league and the players association aren't able to reach a new labor agreement by March 5, the Raiders can use the transition tag on Janikowski if they want to save the franchise tag for Richard Seymour. That tag would pay Janikowski $2.629 million next season. Although instead of using the transition tag on Janikowski, I'd like to see a long-term deal on the table with our star kicker.

The price for the franchise tag is $12.398 million for Richard Seymour, a hefty price to pay. Why should the Raiders pay it? Well, we did give up a first-round pick in 2011 for the guy. Letting him walk after just one year would be a monumental waste of a draft pick and a trade. Personally, I don't think Al Davis would do that because admitting a mistake on a trade isn't something I think he'll do here. I expect Seymour to be back in 2010 with or without a long-term deal, so expect that franchise tag to be exercised before the deadline.

Basically, in short, Janikowski's tag would be inexpensive and Seymour's would be pricey. As for me, I'd save that $12 million we would have to spend if we slapped a tag on Seymour and instead use it in the long-term deal to keep Janikowski around. I think he has earned it and Seymour has not.