Peter Rucco, NFL senior vice president and general counsel, told the *Boston Globe* that teams can use franchise and/or transition tags on players starting Feb. 10, despite the uncertainty over a new collective bargaining agreement.
Teams have 14 days to tag players, and because the current CBA lasts until March 4, teams will do so under the terms of that deal, according to Rucco.
"The CBA hasn't expired, and the CBA has the right to franchise players, so we are telling clubs that you have the right to franchise players, and then depending on what the new agreement says, that will take into account," Rucco said Wednesday. "Neither party is proposing to get rid of the franchise tag. But as far as we're concerned, clubs have the right to tag players, the agreement continues with the same terms and conditions that it has been. ... From our standpoint, you have every right to franchise players."
Rucco told the newspaper he wouldn't be surprised if the NFL Players Association objects to teams using tags, saying "they seem to challenge a lot of things, but I don't know what they'll do."
Teams will have one franchise and/or one transition tag, according to the Globe. The tags bind players to teams for one season under certain conditions.
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