NFL offseason: Franchise tag winners, losers for free agency - ESPN

The franchise tag deadline has come and gone. Two players have been tagged: Chiefs guard Trey Smith, due $23.4 million next season, and Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins, due a whopping $26.2 million in his second year under the tag. There was one player extended just before he was tagged: Cowboys defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa, who signed a four-year, $80 million extension Tuesday afternoon. And there were a few players who could have, but did not receive the tag. Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold, Buccaneers receiver Chris Godwin and Dolphins safety Jevon Holland will now join unrestricted free agency, which begins with the legal tampering period at noon ET on March 10.

Tag day is far from a hard-and-fast conclusion on all these players. Each can still return to their incumbent teams with big extensions; even those on the tag can still be traded. But the franchise tag deadline does set some dominoes in motion for the free agent period.

Here are my winners and losers from Tuesday's franchise-tag news, and what each can gain — or lose — from the fallout. Let's start with both quarterbacks in Minnesota.

coverage:
Grading biggest deals | Best available free agents
Offense free agent tiers | Defense free agent tiers

The upcoming Darnold offseason is going to be a fascinating one. How does the league grade and compensate a player like Darnold, a highly drafted player who blossomed seven years later than expected? His last two games left a sour taste in everyone's mouth — he was under siege against the Lions in Week 18 and Rams in the wild-card round, and folded accordingly — but his first 16 weeks were really something. There's a franchise quarterback in Darnold… if another team can replicate what Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell