The franchise tag deadline yielded a snapshot of what’s to come next week during free agency.

Just two players were tagged Tuesday, the fewest in 31 years and a fraction of recent results. There was an average of 9.2 tagged players from 2020 to 2024.

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins and Kansas City Chiefs guard Trey Smith will be well-paid in 2025 — and perhaps beyond — but they can’t be thrilled about being held out of free agency. Even if they turn those tags into long-term deals, there’s no telling how much their value would have skyrocketed on the open market.

It’s a down year for free agents, with teams looking to use the surging cap to lock up their best players. And for rebuilding clubs, they better get to drafting well because the quick fixes on the veteran market are few and far between.

Here are the winners and losers from Tuesday’s tag deadline.

Winners

J.J. McCarthy

OK, so there’s the caveat that the Minnesota Vikings could still re-sign quarterback Sam Darnold. But if they believed Darnold was decisively superior to McCarthy, their 2024 first-round pick, this conversation would have a different tone.

McCarthy missed his rookie season with a torn meniscus, and Darnold exponentially exceeded expectations as the starter. But it’s McCarthy’s team now.

Considering coach Kevin O’Connell’s track record with quarterbacks Kirk Cousins and Darnold, McCarthy has a path to becoming a very rich man in his own right. He’s taking over a 14-win roster that remains ready to compete in the NFC.

And if McCarthy turns out to be the real deal, the NFC North will again be one of the league’s most intriguing divisions.

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys avoided the tag with defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa, instead striking a four-year, $80 million contract with the front-line pillar. Then, they restructured wide receiver CeeDee Lamb’s contract to save another $20 million against the cap.

It’s all notable with linebacker Micah Parsons next in line for a huge contract, perhaps even the biggest defensive payday in NFL history. By spreading out the Odighizuwa cap hits and freeing up Lamb’s money — likely a standard restructure — the Cowboys have given themselves the flexibility in free agency that they lacked a year ago. And we all saw what happened with the balance of the roster when injuries struck.

To be clear, these deals don’t signal anything being imminent with Parsons. Look at the way negotiations recently played out with Lamb and quarterback Dak Prescott. The Cowboys tend to take their time with these.

Still, they have long operated as though they’d be paying Parsons well beyond his rookie deal, and they’ve begun the process of doing that while also being able to build out the roster next week.

Sam Darnold … we think

Heading into the regular-season finale against the Detroit Lions, Darnold appeared to be a lock for a contract in the neighborhood of $45 million annually, according to league evaluators.

He should still do well, but his stock took a seismic hit during those back-to-back blowout losses to the Lions and Los Angeles Rams. The banged-up Vikings offensive line deserves its share of the blame, but concerns over Darnold’s limitations were heightened.

At any rate, we have him here as a winner because he avoided the tag — an outcome that appeared fairly obvious — so he can remind teams he just delivered the best season among the veterans who are hitting free agency. There’s so much uncertainty with the draft class that teams might also prefer a stopgap QB option before shifting focus toward the 2026 collection of quarterbacks.

The New York Jets, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts, Tennessee Titans, Las Vegas Raiders and New York Giants are in the QB market. Darnold headlines a group of veterans who will include Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Justin Fields, Daniel Jones and Cousins, so the demand still outweighs the supply.

There’s still a question over where teams’ priorities will lie. Yeah, Darnold produced the best season of the group, but that will likely make him the most expensive. Would a team rather pay upper-market value for Darnold or a prove-it deal for one of the others, again with the intention of resetting in 2026?

We’re just days away from finding out.

Losers

Tee Higgins …

Until Higgins gets the deal he wants, he’s got every right to feel slighted by this process. He was tagged in 2024 without a resolution, and it’s happened again — this time with superstar wideout Ja’Marr Chase on his fifth-year option.

Why NFL players hate the franchise tag.

We recently broke down the Bengals’ financial complications while also noting their unprecedented predicament. They can pay Higgins, sure, but it still feels like a long shot to keep everyone happy. We’ll handle more of that below.

As for Higgins, he was head, shoulders and a giraffe’s neck above his peers in free agency. Chris Godwin and Stefon Diggs are coming off major injuries. Keenan Allen and DeAndre Hopkins are about to turn 33. Davante Adams is 32. Amari Cooper is about to turn 31.

There’s a decent chance they’ll all still be valuable producers. But if a team is desperate for something close to a sure thing as its No. 1 wideout, Higgins was set to monopolize the market.

We might not have been talking $30 annually million anymore with Higgins. It could have climbed closer to $33 million.

Higgins is slated to earn about $48 million during his two tag years in 2024-25, but he’s been kept off the open market twice before reaching his prime, cutting deep into his potential career earnings.

… And the Bengals

The Bengals have exercised their collectively bargained leverage by tagging Higgins. That’s just part of the deal, no matter how much it hurts someone like Higgins.

If they reach a fair-market solution, all the better. That’s what the tag was intended to do.

But is this the best allocation of resources to build a team? Their offensive line and defense were exposed in 2024. Quarterback Joe Burrow, Chase and Higgins all had dream seasons, and the Bengals still missed the playoffs for a second consecutive season.

It’s rarely advisable to let premium players walk out the door, but coaches and executives around the league believe the Bengals would have success with virtually any No. 2 receiver as long as Burrow and Chase are around, whether they fill the void through the draft or find a quality veteran who’d love to join that passing attack. Higgins’ money could help rectify other areas.

That’s not the only fallout. Chase is noticing. And given the way Burrow has spoken about their contracts to the media, it’s clearly a talking point behind the scenes.

If they go through all this, don’t extend Higgins and then tag Chase in 2026, things could get a whole lot noisier in Cincinnati.

And if they do reach amicable, long-term solutions with Higgins and Chase, they’ll presumably become the first team in history to field a roster with two $30 million receivers, which will put a lot of stress on that offense as they keep trying to chase down the Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills.

Rebuilders with cap space

The New England Patriots have a league-high $127.7 million in cap space, according to Over the Cap. That’s more than twice as much as all but five teams in the NFL and a $31 million cushion over the No. 2 Las Vegas Raiders ($96.3 million).

But for teams like the Patriots, Raiders and Arizona Cardinals ($78 million) who have disproportionate advantages in cap space over the competition and motivation to use it, there had to be some frustration with the franchise tag window.

Who’s their answer on the offensive line? Ronnie Stanley, Dan Moore Jr., Jedrick Wills and Cam Robinson at tackle? Will Fries, Mekhi Becton, Patrick Mekari, Teven Jenkins, Ben Bredeson, Drew Dalman and Josh Myers on the inside?

They’re good players, but they’re likely about to get paid to be great players.

Same at receiver. Godwin, Diggs, Allen, Hopkins, Adams and Cooper still have some good ball left in them. But if they’re each looking at deals with one or two years of guaranteed money, they’ll likely be heading to a contender unless a team blows the money out of the water.

There are similar cases on defense. In a year when rebuilders are ready to write some hefty checks to get back in the mix, they’ve got to spend wisely or else the holes they’re in could deepen further.