The Ravens have applied the franchise tag to outside linebacker Matthew Judon, meaning that their top pass rusher from last season will not hit the open market when free agency begins March 18.
It does not, however, guarantee that Judon will be with the Ravens next season; the Ravens could opt to trade Judon, which happened with a couple of tagged players last year.
Barring a tag-and-trade scenario, though, Judon will remain with the Ravens through at least the 2020 season. The two sides have until mid-July to work out a long-term deal or Judon must play out the 2020 season under the franchise tag, which carries a cap hit of about $16.2 million. Any long-term deal should significantly lower the salary-cap hit in the early years of the contract.
The Ravens faced a March 16 deadline to apply the tag, a deadline that was pushed back by a few days because of the pending vote on the league’s new collective bargaining agreement.
