NFL Franchise Tag: Tracking players, teams and the Buccaneers

The deadline to use the franchise tag on NFL players is 4:00 p.m. ET today. Any tagged player is stuck with his team for another year, at a hefty fee. The Bucs don't have anyone worth tagging and are likely to let every one of their free agents actually hit free agency, which starts next week.

The Buccaneers are likely to be interested in at least a couple of players who are set to receive the franchise tag, though, most notably safety Devin McCourty and a couple of offensive linemen like Mike Iupati. So we'll track which players receive the franchise tag and which don't throughout the rest of the day.

TE Jordan Cameron, Cleveland Browns: Did not get tagged and should be a possibility for the Buccaneers.

WR Randall Cobb, Green Bay Packers: Was not tagged, but given the Bucs' insistence on keeping Vincent Jackson is not likely to be targeted by Tampa Bay, either.

TE Charles Clay, Miami Dolphins: Surprisingly tagged, with the transition tag. That means that the Bucs could technically go after him, but they probably won't.

WR Dez Bryant & RB DeMarco Murray, Dallas Cowboys: Dez Bryant was tagged, per Pro Football Talk, which means Murray will likely walk. I wouldn't expect the Bucs to be interested, though.

WR Demaryius Thomas & TE Julius Thomas, Denver Broncos: The Broncos chose to hit Demaryius Thomas with the tag, so Julius walks, per NFL.com. The big tight end would actually be an intriguing target for the Bucs, who have no real depth at that position but do have a talented second-year player in Austin Seferian-Jenkins.

S Devin McCourty, New England Patriots: Less likely to be tagged than Stephen Gostkowski, according to ESPN's Mike Reiss. McCourty would be a perfect, if expensive, free safety for Lovie Smith's defense.

DT Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions: Will not be franchise tagged by the Detroit Lions, per Ian Rapoport, but the Bucs won't be interested. With Gerald McCoy and Clinton McDonald already on the roster, they don't need another expensive defensive tackle.

LB Justin Houston, Kansas City Chiefs: Houston was hit with the tag, per Adam Schefter. Jason Pierre-Paul is now the top edge rusher on the market.