On Feb. 16, teams can begin deploying the franchise tag. Until we reach the deadline for franchising players, teams will attempt to sign their star players to long-term contracts, but if that doesn't work, they'll need to resort to the tag.
I don't have a crystal ball to tell you who will or won't get tagged. What I can tell you is 10 players who should get tagged if long-term deals can't be worked out. Not all these players will get tagged, of course, but their teams would miss this player in a big way if they're gone.
Pernell McPhee, OLB, Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens have two big-name edge rushers in Terrell Suggs and Elvis Dumervil, which allowed McPhee to go under the radar while having an excellent season. He didn't have as many sacks as Suggs or Dumervil, but he had a combined 29 sacks and hits, which is more than either.