The Colts on Tuesday placed the transition tag on quarterback Daniel Jones.
In using the transition tag on Jones, the Colts will have the right to match any offer the 28-year-old quarterback may receive as an unrestricted free agent. The Colts and Jones can still agree to a new contract at any point between now and the opening of the NFL free agency negotiation window at noon on Monday, March 9.
If the Colts and Jones do not reach a new contract between now and the opening of that window, Jones will be able to negotiate offer sheets with the 31 other NFL teams. However, if Jones were to agree to an offer sheet, the Colts would have five days to choose to match it and keep him in Indianapolis.
There are two key differences between the transition tag and the franchise tag. First: If a team declines to match an offer sheet for a player on the franchise tag, they receive two first-round picks in return; on the transition tag, a team does not receive draft compensation for declining to match. Second: The one-year guaranteed salary of the franchise tag is determined by the average of the top five salaries at a player's position over the last five years; for the transition tag, it's the average of the top 10 salaries at a player's position over the last five years.
This is the seventh time since 2013 that a team has used the transition tag on a player, and it's the first time the Colts have used the transition tag since 1998.
Jones signed with the Colts as an unrestricted free agent last March and, over 13 starts, completed 68 percent of his passes for 3,101 yards with 19 touchdowns, eight interceptions, a passer rating of 100.2 and five rushing touchdowns.
