Stephen Gostkowski In Play To Be Tagged By New England Patriots

The New England Patriots are yet to use their franchise tag. They have not used it since 2015, but it seems like they are ready to make a big move. The Patriots have already been there, but this time they are all about tagging Stephen Gostkowski.

Tuesday is the big day, and NFL teams get the chance to tag their favorite picks for the upcoming year. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that on the opening day, The New England Patriots will lay their hands on Stephen Gostkowski.

Gostkowski is the last player to be tagged by the team. He is about to become unrestricted free agent, and this may be the Patriots’ way of securing their player for the upcoming season.

The all-time points leader comes off a four-year contract worth $17.2 million. He signed it in 2015 after the team hit him with a tag which was actually the first step towards the new deal. If New England decides to tag Gostkowski, it will be somewhat above what he made this season. in 2018, the player had $3.2 million in base salary and the franchise tag for kickers last season was $4.9 million.

Stephen Gostkowski is getting a raise

This would represent a raise for Gostkowski. But, securing him for another season is beneficial for the New England Patriots at so many levels. Gostkowski was successful in 27 of his 32 field goal attempts and was 49 of 50 on extra points in the regular season.

The Patriots can also start using their transition tag which actually considers unrestricted free agents like restricted free agents. The team that decides to place a transition tag on a pending unrestricted free agent is given the right to refuse the first offer made by other teams in the league. The use of this tag is not as common as the franchise tag, but let’s wait and see what happens next in New England.