The New York Jets announced their plans with their star running back Breece Hall, bringing that situation to a close on Tuesday.
The New York Jets kept running back Breece Hall as one of the few cornerstone players remaining after selling off a ton of pieces at the trade deadline last season, indicating his importance to the franchise. But Hall has indicated in the past that he has his sights set on contending with another team, one who has better chances than the Jets have. Nothing really came out of that, and Hall entered this offseason with a bit of an unsure future that all wrapped up on Tuesday. New York announced that they are placing their franchise tag on the star Back ahead of the Tuesday 4 p.m. ET deadline.
They played the $14.293 million nonexclusive tag on Hall, which allows him to still negotiate with other teams and sign an offer sheet, of which the Jets would have the right of first refusal. That would mean that if they decline to match the offer, New York will receive two first-round draft picks as compensation – a significantly hefty deal for the back. That pretty much keeps Hall as a Jet barring an unforeseen trade, whereas a transition tag would have made it so the team wouldn't receive compensation. New York general manager Darren Mougey told reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine that they would like to keep Hall around rather than find a suitor.
Here is the full story from Jets Roundtable writer RC Nazemi on the franchise’s decision and what it signifies for their plans.
From what it sounds like, the franchise tag is essentially operating as a stopgap while the two sides hopefully work out a more lucrative long-term deal. But for now, it keeps Hall pretty firmly in New York, unless a team really is willing to pay for his services. Hall is coming off his first season where he eclipsed 1,000 yards while recording four rushing scores.