Denver Broncos safety Justin Simmons was tagged, and that is important for the Dallas Cowboys

We have reached the point in the offseason calendar where things are starting to happen almost on a daily basis. Not every single day brings with it a league-altering trade, but news is dropping all of the time.

Next week seems like it will bring more headlines than most preceding it, especially for the Dallas Cowboys as the deadline to place the franchise tag on players for teams is Tuesday, March 9th. Dak Prescott is a prime candidate to receive the tag if he and the Cowboys are unable to come to terms, but he is not the only player for which this is an option.

One player in the NFL who seemed headed for the tag has been Denver Broncos safety Justin Simmons. Like Prescott, Simmons had the tag placed on him last season. Incidentally they are both represented by Todd France. With the deadline still a few days away the Broncos went ahead and did it. Tag season has begun.

Justin Simmons getting tagged sort of suggests a Prescott tag is on the horizon, but we already knew that

When it was first reported that the Broncos would be tagging Simmons many people immediately connected his situation to Prescott’s, the Todd France detail being the most important.

It stands to reason that operations from player representation are going similar to how they were last year for Justin Simmons which suggests that they should (and have been so) for Dak Prescott.

Just because Justin Simmons was tagged isn’t 100% proof that Prescott is going to be as well, but the tag has felt inevitable for a long time now. We hear every year about how the tag is merely a placeholder for teams and players they choose to use it on, but in the case of both Simmons and Prescott they wound up playing the 2020 season on it.

Furthermore Justin Simmons was technically an option for the Cowboys at the safety position this offseason, but as noted that dream never seemed practical given that if was unlikely Denver would let him out of their sight. The tagging of Simmons both takes him off the hypothetical board for the Cowboys as well as seemingly reinforces that they themselves will be having to tag a Todd France client.

The franchise tag deadline is approaching and while it is not the massive one that hovers in mid-July, it is significant. Time is of the essence and the Cowboys need to get to work.