NFL franchise tag window closes, which officially confirms Nick Foles will be a free agent

The NFL franchise tag window officially expired at 4:00 PM Eastern today. Teams are no longer eligible to apply the tag to impending free agents.

It’s obviously no surprise the Philadelphia Eagles didn’t use the franchise designation on Nick Foles. Howie Roseman said last week that the team wouldn’t be tagging their 2018 Super Bowl MVP.

But now it’s officially official: Foles will be a free agent when the new league year begins next Wednesday, March 13 at 4:00 PM. Foles’ agent can actually begin negotiating terms for a new contract as soon as the legal tampering window begins on Monday, March 11.

Reports indicate Foles could be headed down to Jacksonville to play for the Jaguars. The Eagles could potentially earn a third-round compensatory pick in the 2020 NFL Draft for Foles leaving depending on the contract he signs and how active Philly is in free agency.

The Eagles were never expected to use the franchise tag on any non-Foles player but we’ll note that all of their other impending free agents are officially about to hit the market next week as well. That list includes players like Ronald Darby, Golden Tate, Jordan Hicks, Timmy Jernigan, and so on.

In other NFL news, the New York Giants decided not to use the tag on Landon Collins while the Dallas Cowboys did apply it to DeMarcus Lawrence. That’s not an ideal development for either of the Eagles’ NFC East rivals.