Raiders elect not to use franchise tags

Originally published on Silver & Black Report on March 3, 2014

Just as the Oakland Raiders did last year, the front office has elected not to use any of their franchise tags as they let Monday's 1:00 p.m. PST deadline come and go.

The Raiders had the opportunity to place one of three tags on a player, as explained here previously.

The most likely candidates for the tags was defensive end Lamarr Houston and starting left tackle Jared Veldheer. Houston would have been given a one-year contract worth $13.116 million fully guaranteed, while Veldheer would have earned $11.654 million if either had been franchise tagged.

With neither players receiving the tags, the team must now try to agree to a long-term contract with them in order to retain their services. The team will have to find the solution quickly with free agency rapidly approaching as players can start talking to teams on March 8 and start signing new contracts March 11.

The front office must have a sense of urgency now as they won't want to see Houston or Veldheer sign with another team.