SAN DIEGO – The window for NFL teams to apply the franchise tag on players set to hit free agency begins on Wednesday and closes at 3 p.m. ET March 1.
For the Los Angeles Chargers, it provides an opportunity for general manager Tom Telesco to figure out what to do about pending free agent Melvin Ingram.
Ingram, a former South Carolina star, will be one of the top free agents in March if allowed to hit the market. With 18.5 sacks in the last two seasons, Ingram is tied for 12th in the NFL in that time period.
Paired with second-year pro Joey Bosa, the Chargers have one of the best pass-rusher tandems in the NFL.
Ingram turns 28 years old in April, and the Chargers have to figure out if he’s a good fit in new defensive coordinator Gus Bradley’s scheme, along with determining if he’s worth the long-term financial investment.
The Chargers face a difficult decision on whether they can afford to keep pass-rusher Melvin Ingram. Tom Walko/Icon Sportswire
The Chargers likely would be unwilling to match that kind of deal.
The franchise tag is a labor designation that restricts a player’s potential movement in exchange for a high one-year salary. It is governed by owners and players through the collective bargaining agreement.
There are two types of designations, exclusive rights and non-exclusive. The exclusive-rights franchise tag designation means a player is bound to the team for the upcoming season. A player’s agent is prohibited from seeking offer sheets elsewhere.
The amount earned is the average of the five largest salaries at the player’s position through the end of the current year’s restricted free-agent signing period (April 21 this year), or 120 percent of the player’s salary the previous year — whichever is greater.
With the nonexclusive franchise tag, players can sign an offer sheet with another team. The original team has the opportunity to match that offer and retain the player under those exact terms, or it can allow the player to leave in exchange for two first-round draft picks from the new team.
The Chargers have used the franchise tag just six times in team history. The last time was in 2011 on receiver Vincent Jackson. The Chargers have used the transition tag just three times in franchise history.
The amount it would cost to retain Ingram for a season will depend on if he’s designated a linebacker or a defensive end. ESPN’s John Clayton projects a franchise-tag designation of $15,287,383 for linebackers and $16,988,266 for defensive ends, with a projected salary cap of $168 million.
The problem for the Chargers would be the cap hit the team would take if Ingram signed the franchise tender. The Chargers have roughly $20 million in cap space, and all of Ingram’s salary would be designated toward this year’s cap.
So it would be beneficial for the Chargers to get a long-term deal done with Ingram to lower his cap number.
According to the NFL Players Association database, Ingram is represented at Roc Nation Sports by Kim Miale, Ari Nissim and John Thornton.
ESPN’s Kevin Seifert provides all the pertinent information on the franchise tag here.
Paris Saint-Germain’s 4-0 victory in the first leg of what was expected to be a back-and-forth Round of 16 clash against Barcelona was memorable for a multitude of reasons – Angel Di Maria’s birthday brace, Marco Verratti’s brilliance, and 21-year-old Presnel Kimpembe’s imperious Champions League debut among them.
But above all, it was the complete and utter annihilation of the Barcelona midfield that will go down as the most noteworthy development.
Read more: Rampant Paris Saint-Germain obliterates Barcelona in historic win
The Blaugrana’s vaunted “MSN” frontline garners much of the attention around the club, and with good reason, but the midfield trio of Andres Iniesta, Ivan Rakitic, and Sergio Busquets has been equally vital to the recent successes, the three men offering the ideal blend of attacking imagination, work rate, and astute positioning to provide defensive cover.
That was all horribly vacant on Tuesday.
With Andre Gomes curiously preferred once again to Rakitic, Luis Enrique – battered in the Spanish press after the loss – watched as his cumbersome trio was repeatedly torn to shreds by the mobile, shape-shifting unit of Verratti, Adrien Rabiot, and Blaise Matuidi.
This was, in short, a slaughter.
Warning signs
Before Paris Saint-Germain ran away with the contest and all but rendered the return leg on March 8 meaningless, there were warning shots sent out that should have had Enrique questioning the viability of his personnel choices.
Relatively early in the match, Verratti – who was immaculate all evening and showcased why so many clubs want to pry him away from the French capital – took out Barcelona’s entire midfield with a simple forward pass.
Related – Brightest star: Verratti the man to lead blossoming PSG to glory
In what became a familiar sight at the Parc des Princes, Iniesta, Busquets, and the woeful Gomes are easily bypassed and instantly forced to chase a PSG attack from behind. The performance of the Portuguese, in particular, is just the latest in a string of questionable displays that continue to make his €35-million signing – which could hit €55 million with incentives – look like the fleecing of the century by Valencia.
The move ultimately ends with a cross barely eluding the head of Edinson Cavani. No damage done on this occasion, but this became the marquee theme of the one-sided affair.
Beating the press
One of the hallmarks of Barcelona’s trophy-laden run in recent seasons has been the team’s ability to turn defence into attack instantly by pressing the opposition and winning the ball back in dangerous areas.
Ever feel like Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, and Neymar score an inordinate amount of open net tap-ins? Much of that is a result of the midfield’s work in pressing high up the pitch, winning possession, and allowing the devastating front-three to create numerical mismatches and score simple goals.
That press was blown up on Tuesday, thanks to the skill and quickness – both in mind and body – of PSG, as well as the languid nature of what is a worryingly ageing Barcelona side.
There was no greater example than the swift move – and simultaneous breakdown – that led to Di Maria’s second tally of the game (PSG’s third).
First, the goal in full:
The move begins, incredibly, with a goal kick. The shaggy-haired Rabiot, who at just 21 years old looks an absolute superstar in the making, drops to the top of his own penalty area to receive the pass (circled). Barcelona, meanwhile, looks to initiate a press by stationing four players across the PSG box.
Often times, this will frighten lesser sides into simply hoofing the ball long, at which point Barca can win it back and immediately get on the front foot.
That’s where pure talent, and some courage, come in.
Rabiot, despite the four green shirts in his vicinity, accepts the pass and dribbles out of his own end, toward the sideline. His strong run immediately eliminates the Barcelona quartet, which is the first line of defence, from the equation. Advantage, instantly, to PSG.
A clever backheel flick from Julian Draxler – again highlighting the importance of pure talent in the equation – and a quick pass from Matuidi free marauding left-back Layvin Kurzawa, who, after running away from Gomes, has acres of space in which he’s opposed by nothing but blades of grass.
The Barcelona midfielders make an attempt to get back into the play, but as Kurzawa lays the ball off to Di Maria, they’re all in suboptimal positions, either level with the ball carrier, or well behind him.
Iniesta has one last chance to kill the attack, but the little Spaniard – never known for his defensive prowess – is easily brushed off by a quick swivel of the hips from Di Maria, who proceeds to curl home a beauty into the far corner.
Related – Angel reborn: Di Maria back at his best in demolition of Barcelona
“It was a disastrous game. It’s not difficult to explain,” Enrique said after the match. “PSG were better than us from the start. They overcame our pressure and they were better with and without the ball.”
All of that is accurate and PSG’s third goal was a perfect example of it.
The dagger
If the tally above was a product of a system breakdown, the fourth and final goal of the match was simply a matter of physical decline.
PSG right-back Thomas Meunier begins the sequence well inside his own half, skipping past Neymar and continuing his run after the referee allows for an advantage. As the Belgian, 25, pumps his legs and bombs forward, he leaves Iniesta and Busquets in his wake.
Rarely have the two men, now 32 and 28 years old, respectively, ever looked so overmatched.
Granted, neither has relied on physical prowess throughout their career; Iniesta, the dribbling wizard, has shredded many a backline due to his ability to have the ball on a string, while Busquets’ brilliant positioning and foresight allows him to read the play and seemingly be in the right place all the time.
Despite that, however, their physical skills have always been sufficient. Never the most important element of their game, but good enough to allow their aforementioned talents to take over and do the rest.
It wasn’t good enough on Tuesday.
Starting from almost a dead heat, Meunier, despite carrying the ball, blows Iniesta away as he runs nearly the length of the pitch.
To even catch a glimpse of Busquets, we need an alternative camera angle:
Rafinha, who mercifully replaced Gomes in the 58th minute, attempts to cover the ground and close down Meunier, but he can’t make it over in time, and the defender slips a perfect pass through to Cavani, who made it 4-0.
Game. Set. Match.
Barring a historic comeback, the likes of which have never been seen before in the Champions League knockout stage, Barcelona will be heading out of Europe’s marquee competition in the Round of 16 for the first time since 2007.
The end of a prolonged run of excellence for the club. And, based on their performances Tuesday, perhaps the same for a pair of Spanish midfielders who looked overmatched by the pace and power of Paris Saint-Germain.
In an offseason where a potential trade of New England Patriots backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is a notable storyline, veteran receiver Julian Edelman paid him a high compliment by comparing his approach to that of two Green Bay Packers greats.
“The guy is a stud. He went out and played in the regular season and played very well. He has that kind of gunslinger-like confidence, that Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers kind of confidence,” Edelman said Tuesday night on NFL Network.
Jimmy Garoppolo, No. 10, has earned the respect of teammate Julian Edelman, No. 11, who compares the quarterback’s approach to that of Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers. Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images
Garoppolo, whom the Patriots selected in the second round of the 2014 draft out of Eastern Illinois, is entering the final year of his contract.
The 25-year-old Garoppolo had an early-season audition of sorts, starting the Patriots’ first two games of 2016 as Brady served a four-game suspension as part of the NFL’s Deflategate penalties.
In a season-opening 23-21 road victory over the Arizona Cardinals on “Sunday Night Football,” Garoppolo was 24-of-33 for 264 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. He followed that up with a fast start the following week in a 31-24 victory over the Miami Dolphins, going 18-of-26 for 232 yards, with three touchdowns and no interceptions before injuring his right shoulder late in the second quarter.
Garoppolo missed the next two games, with Brissett starting until Brady returned, and he only attempted four passes the rest of the season, all coming late in the fourth quarter, when the outcome was decided.
“It was a good opportunity, and I went out and tried to take advantage of it and do everything I could,” Garoppolo said in the days leading up to Super Bowl LI. “And it worked out pretty well. The injury obviously wasn’t the best thing, but I think it was overall a good experience.”
Barcelona – Barcelona’s Brazil star Neymar says it will be a virtual ‘mission impossible’ for the Spanish giants to progress in the Champions League after its 4-0 first leg demolition by Paris Saint-Germain.
No team has ever come back from a 4-0 first leg deficit to remain in the Champions League and Barcelona is under no illusions about the mountain it has to climb for the second leg of the last 16 clash at Camp Nou on March 8.
“Now we have to think about the return match and see what we can try to do to reverse this situation,” the Brazilian star told journalists.
“But it will be very difficult, practically impossible. However, we can’t give up.”
Barca were totally dominated during the game in which Angel Di Maria scored twice alongside further goals from Julian Draxler and Edinson Cavani in a match Barca coach Luis Enrique dubbed a disaster for the Spaniards.
Neymar poured praise on PSG and said that being hammered was unfamiliar to Barcelona’s galaxy of international stars.
“All credit to PSG,” he said. “This match was atypical, we are not in the habit of finding ourselves in this sort of situation.
“It will be very difficult to prepare for the return match, with a four-goal deficit. I don’t think this has ever happened to me.”
He said that Barcelona had not prepared well for the game but was still surprised by the punishment it received.
“We were not good, we did not do our work as we should have done and we were surprised by this result,” he said.
The joint heaviest defeat in coach Enrique’s three seasons in charge means Barcelona face missing out on the quarter-finals for the first time since losing on away goals to Liverpool in the last 16 in 2006-07.
“It was a disastrous night for us in which we were clearly inferior,” Enrique acknowledged.
Neymar, Lionel Messi and teammates took part in a closed-door training session at Camp Nou earlier on Wednesday to wind down after the PSG defeat. A glum looking trio of Messi, Luis Suarez and Gerard Pique were pictured on the club website taking part in the session.
