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What is going on everybody John Middlethoff three in out podcast recording this on a Thursday afternoon not going to lie Thursday July 16th haven't has not been one of my more productive days.

I thought about recording this podcast a little bit earlier and it up just watching golf just read the Washington redskins article and we will talk about that some of the franchise tags and middle cop mail back as of course at John Middlethoff is my Instagram and we do mail bags every single podcast you just ask a question at John Middlethoff my name just spelled out and slide up in the Instagram direct messages and you get read here.

It's pretty easy pretty straight forward. You know we're coming down the home stretch we think of training camp starting and hopefully we'll have a lot more going on but you know like BellicEx says no days off got a couple things to talk about fire it up.

Also for those of you that have I greatly appreciate it for those of you that haven't and I've been thinking about it I would greatly appreciate go to the three out podcast on Apple right tunes lever review subscribe to that podcast I know some of you guys listen on college Collins feed you can also listen on my feed probably easier that way subscribe to that podcast lever review I tip my hat out of respect like Derek Geter's nephew in the little Jeff if you do that.

So let's start with this before we get into dance nighter I don't want to get too negative off the top let's start with the franchise tags and the franchise tag has been something that's always talked about every year will you extend the guy will you franchise tag him it clearly is a basic mode of operation now in the NFL it's pretty normal for teams to use it on good players.

And to me when I see a player tag it immediately shows a couple things one the team values the player because the team could easily just let the player hit the open market so if I play the team tags a player it shows that team thinks highly of the player now we can dispute whether they're in love whether they like obviously there are there's contacts in every individual player when it comes to getting tag but I'd say for the most part if you get tagged.

Your couple things you're really good player and you're a player that team would in theory like to keep now if you're a tag player that usually shows you're an expensive player you're a highly you know you will become a highly compensated.

You know player in the league right over a several year deal if you were to hit the open market most players if they were not tagged would get large contracts sometimes it's simply depending on the way your cap is structured you tag.

You know you're a tag player to trade them because you don't want to lose the value you don't necessarily want to keep them for example we saw it last year with the Ford he was tagged and then he was traded to the diners the chiefs like the Ford didn't want a paem but also used his value to their advantage.

I think the tag deadline also shows a couple things are both sides willing to make deals and I think we often think with the franchise tag that it's the team that is reluctant or not on the same page as the player sometimes it's the opposite and we'll get into deck you know in a second it takes two to tango in a contract negotiation right if you're going to do a deal with someone in any business they got to do it.

You got to say yes and you got to say yes as Parag Marathe the 49ers cap guru told me I think it was two years ago we had him on my other podcast a Heyman a middle cop and he said something because I we often feel that a lot of the best contract negotiators how he roseman you know Parag Belichak some of the teams that are known as I cut throat with money kind of screw over or always win the deals and he was adamant that he doesn't like doing deals unless the other side feels comfortable.

Now sometimes as a team you're going to have leverage and vice versa sometimes as the player Aaron Donald Colio Mac Patrick Mahomes you're going to have leverage now in the NFL typically for a player to have leverage he has to be elite right sometimes you see in basketball you see in baseball a player can have some leverage and just be like above average that's not the case in the NFL and I think that's why the NFL so healthy you don't get stuck signing consistently dumb contracts.

If you're going to pay 90 million dollars to a defensive lineman usually his name is Cleo Mac or Miles Garrett it's not just some random Joe Schmo now the bad teams do sign random players.

But when we look at the players who got done because I think the deal I think the couple deals that got done right at the deadline showed you two things the player and the team were on the same page.

Let's start with Tennessee Titans John Robinson Mike Vrabel have put together a very very solid team two years ago they were in a win to get in game week 17 and remember Marcus Mario to got her in the in the cold speed and but they were right there next year they have a backup plan get Ryan Taney Hill he comes in well you know

that's Mario to kind of gets benched is her whatever is terrible and Ryan Taney Hill because the infrastructure around them was good and Derek Henry carries the team to the AFC championship game.

Now I'm a believer that you don't pay running backs and when I say you don't pay running backs you don't commit to four to five years with running backs like what the cowboys did was seek like what the LA Rams did with Todd Gurley they didn't give him 20 or 30 million which essentially equates to a win.

They gave those guys 45 50 million dollars so essentially three and a half four year deals you are stuck with the player on top of the upcoming year.

Well the Tennessee Titans Derek Henry who has been a very very good player who last year had a historic season he broke the record of like three straight games over 180 yards he was dominant he was like secretary he was unstoppable and they signed him to I would say a very good player.

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