The Patriots are making it clear how badly they want to keep one core player

The New England Patriots are really hoping to keep one of their best players around.

It's going to cost them, because if Mike Onwenu hits unrestricted free agency, he'll have his share of suitors. Franchising him would cost over $20 million. There's no way around it: the Pats need to spend big in order to keep him. But de facto GM Eliot Wolf sounds ready to do so.

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Wolf spoke to reporters for the first time this off-season at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis on Tuesday, and was asked about Onwenu recently firing his agents and representing himself in negotiations. Wolf said that "doesn't impact" the Patriots' desire to re-sign Onwenu, and confirmed that said desire to keep the tackle/guard is extremely high.

"Mike's a core player for us," Wolf said. "It's no secret we want to try to keep Mike. It'll just be a little bit of a wrinkle dealing with him [with no agent]. Mike's really smart and he's introspective and he's thoughtful, and he knows what he wants, which is always good when you're dealing with a player. He's certainly someone we view as a cornerstone for us."

Wolf was later asked about the possibility of the franchise tag and whether they'd use it on safety Kyle Dugger. He reiterated that he and the Patriots would prefer to keep both of them.

"I would say that all the options are on the table," Wolf said. "We definitely want to keep Mike [Onwenu] and Kyle [Dugger], and we're hopeful to continue to work with Kyle's agent and Mike to make that happen."

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As unlikely as it seems that both, let alone either, of Dugger and Onwenu would end up staying in New England, it's notable that Wolf is leaving that possibility open. He could've said something to the effect of "We wish them well" and cast them off into free agency. He and the Patriots front office seem to feel the opposite way.

It's promising that they feel strongly about re-signing Onwenu, because they need offensive tackle help arguably more than anything on the roster. The question is what Onwenu himself wants.

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Matt Dolloff is a writer and podcaster for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Check out all of Matt's content.

Tuesday is an important day on the NFL offseason calendar. Starting at 4:00 p.m. ET, teams can begin using franchise tags on pending free agents.

Franchise tags are a device that allows NFL teams to keep pending free agents they can't agree on a long-term deal with, but at a cost. Each franchise tag represents a one-year, fully guaranteed deal that is based on other top contracts around the league at the player's position. The exact value of the tag depends on which of the three franchise tags the organization uses.

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The exclusive franchise tag is the most well-known of the three tags and often just referred to generally as 'the franchise tag.' When teams put the exclusive franchise tag on a player it's a full guaranteed contract worth the average of the top five salaries at that player's position for the given year, or 120 percent of the player's previous salary (whichever is higher). There's also an escalator for players who are tagged in consecutive seasons.

Then there's the non-exclusive franchise tag, which is worth the average of the top five salaries over the previous five years (so slightly less than the exclusive tag). Players on non-exclusive tags essentially become restricted free agents until signing the tender, but the tagging team has the right to match any contract offer or receive two first-round picks from the player's new team if they don't match.

Finally there's the transition tag, which can only be applied to players who were top-10 highest paid at their position the previous season. It's slightly cheaper than either franchise tag and also allows the player to enter free agency with the original team having right of first refusal. However, the original team gets no compensation if the player signs elsewhere.

Once a team has a player on a franchise tag, they can keep on negotiating a long-term extension. In fact, sometimes the franchise tag is simply used to extend the window for the player and team to negotiate. Both sides have until July 15 this year or reach an extension, or the player is locked into playing on the tag in 2024.

Under Bill Belichick the Patriots used the franchise tag 10 times. Of those 10, four played under the tag, four got new contracts before the season, and two were traded.

The most recent Patriots franchise tag recipient was guard Joe Thuney, who ended up playing the 2020 season on the tag then left the next year in free agency. Will new de facto GM Eliot Wolf use the tag in his first year running the show? If he does, here are the three most likely candidates.

Franchise tag values projected by OverTheCap.com

Over the weekend, ESPN's Mike Reiss highlighted his Sunday notes by mentioning Dugger as a tag candidate, specifically to give the two sides more time to negotiate. Dugger is coming off of his rookie contract, and is ranked by PFF as the 20th-best player and second-best safety in free agency this year. At the safety position Dugger is ranked behind only Antoine Winfield of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who is also expected to receive the tag.

Dugger's production dipped slightly in 2023 as his role in the Patriots' defense changed - he played less in the box and more on the back end as the team rotated players through that spot to help replace the loss of Devin McCourty. If the Patriots do invest in Dugger - either short-term by having him play on the tag or long-term with an extension - it will be interesting to see if they tailor things defensively towards getting him back into the box safety role he featured in for the first three years of his career.

Projected franchise tag value: $16.2 million

Heading into the offseason, the Patriots' tackle position is in need of serious fixing. Last year's starting left tackle, Trent Brown, is a pending free agent and likely heading elsewhere. The only other returning true tackles are Calvin Anderson, who missed most of last year due to illness, Conor McDermott and Vederian Lowe, who both struggled significantly when called on in 2023, and Andrew Stueber, a 2022 seventh-round pick who has never played an NFL snap.

In order to help solve their tackle problems last year the Patriots kicked Onwenu out from right guard to right tackle, which helped stabilize things to an extent. Given adding one starting-caliber tackle is in itself a massive undertaking for an offseason, would the Patriots franchise Onwenu and keep him at right tackle to avoid having to add two.

Compounding that issue is the fact that this is not a strong year for tackles in free agency. Owenu is PFF's third-ranked tackle, behind Brown and 33-year-old Cowboys tackle Tyron Smith. There aren't many more opportunities in the draft - the top of the class is strong but it drops off significantly after the top 40-ish picks.

Projected franchise tag value: $19.9 million

No matter what, the Patriots are going to have to make some major investments at tight end this offseason. The only player they currently have under contract for 2024 at the position is La'Michael Pettway, who was signed off the practice squad for the final week of the season last year.

Drafting a tight end may be in the cards, but the Patriots will need more than just one player to play significant snaps at that position this year, and tight ends generally are among the least-productive rookies relative to other positions (their 'breakouts' tend to come later in their rookie contracts than right away). To help bridge the gap the Patriots could consider tagging Henry, whose tag cost would actually represent a pay-cut from what he made in 2023.

Of these three players, Henry seems like the most likely to play on the tag in 2024 if tagged. He's older than Dugger and Onwenu, plays a position where a two-year 'bridge' plan with a project player makes more sense, and would be cheaper. At the same time he may also be the toughest of the three to get a long-term deal done with, given the uncertainty of the Patriots' offense and the reality that he may want to play for a contender as the window on his career starts to close.

Projected franchise tag value: $18 million

Alex Barth is a writer and digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Looking for a podcast guest? Let him know on Twitter @RealAlexBarth or via email at abarth@985TheSportsHub.com.

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