The deadline to franchise players ends on Thursday, February 24 and the Oakland Raiders have waited until the final day to use theirs. According to Adam Caplan of FOXSports.com, the Raiders have applied the franchise tag to OLB Kamerion Wimbley. NFL Network's Jason La Canfora reports he will sign the tag today.
Perhaps more importantly, this means that TE Zach Miller won't receive the franchise tag. The two sides are reportedly negotiating a long-term contract.
The franchise tag for linebackers in 2011 is expected to be around $10 million.
Of course, there's also the question of whether there will even be a franchise tag. The NFL has told teams they can use the franchise tag, per usual, from February 10 to 24. The NFLPA, though, says they're meaningless without a new CBA, which expires on March 3, in place.
One candidate for the Raiders franchise tag would have been CB Stanford Routt. However, on Wednesday news broke that he had agreed to a three-year, $31.5 million deal with the Raiders.
With only a few hours until the deadline, the Raiders may be the last team to apply a franchise tag.
Wimbley was the Browns first round pick in the 2006 NFL draft. He was traded to the Raiders for a third round pick in March of 2010.
Check out SB Nation's Silver and Black Pride to see what Raiders fans are saying about the move.