Jenny Vrentas reports the Jets will not use their franchise tag on Sione Pouha.
The window for teams to apply the franchise tag to their own free agents begins today. Nose tackle Sione Pouha, the Jets' top free agent, is not expected to be tagged, per a person with knowledge of the team's strategy.
The tag probably would have cost in excess of $7 million in cap space for 2012. If the Jets want to keep Pouha, it would probably make more sense to lock him up for two or three years to cut his cap cost and get more long term security at the position.
The real question will be how confident the coaching staff is in its ability to get Kenrick Ellis ready over the course of the offseason. The Jets have felt comfortable letting veterans go like Marques Douglas, Shaun Ellis, and Trevor Pryce in recent years opting to rely on unproven players on the defensive line. I get the feeling they will look hard at whether Ellis is one offseason of work from being a good starter.