What is the franchise tag? It is a designation teams can apply to a player scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent, and it binds the player to the team for one season. Fran

Barring a tag-and-trade scenario, Trey Smith won't hit free agency. The Chicago Bears will now have to pivot if they want to address this position before the NFL draft.

NFL offseason is here. While the new league year technically doesn't begin until March 12, which is when signings and trades can become official, the franchise tag window has been open since mid-February.