The Tennessee Titans used their franchise tag on Monday, but not on cornerback Cortland Finnegan. Instead the Titans used it on safety Michael Griffin, meaning Finnegan will hit the open market on March 13 when NFL free agency begins.
Finnegan predictably wasn't too happy with how things played out in Tennessee. Apparently he was under the impression that the Titans were going to bring him back, but they had other plans.
"The Titans told us they were not going to offer us a deal this year, so that is pretty black and white to me," Finnegan said. "They didn’t franchise me and they could have and they told us they weren’t going to offer us a deal. So this is all on the Titans, there is nothing that we could decline and say ‘no’ to. It just baffles me that we never got anything from them. I don’t know what I did to turn them off on me. I felt I did everything I could do. But everyone moves on, it is a business."
One reason why a deal may not have been offered is because Finnegan is expected to command a big salary. Jason Cole reports that Finnegan could end up with a deal that tops $11 million a year. Cole also reports that teams like the Buccaneers, Cowboys, Vikings, Bears, Broncos and Rams are expected to "make a run" at signing Finnegan.
As we've covered before, it's unlikely the Lions will be able to afford somebody like Finnegan, but considering he could land in the division, he's still worth keeping an eye on as free agency nears.