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A week ago, we looked at four major names potentially involved in free agency that would impact the QB market at the top: Philadelphia Eagles QB Sam Bradford, San Francisco 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick, Denver Broncos QB Brock Osweiler and Washington QB Robert Griffin III. Some recent developments have changed the landscape a bit, so it's worth looking at each as we head toward the opening of free agency.
As it pertains to timing, the first big deadline is March 1 at 4pm ET at which time all teams will no longer be able to apply a franchise or transition tag to any player with an expiring contract. The "legal tampering" window begins just six days later with full free agency opening on March 9, so the use of the tag will help shape things headed into that window.
That being the lead off, here's where we're at with those four major names:
Philadelphia Eagles QB Sam Bradford
A report came out on Friday that the Eagles had significantly increased their offer to Bradford. As that story from Bleeding Green Nation clarifies, the report means one of two things: either this helps the Eagles' public reputation as it makes it seem like they did everything to re-sign Bradford or it leads directly into the use of the tag and justifies it pretty easily.
San Francisco 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick
Right in the thick of the 2016 NFL Scouting Combine, we got word that Kaepernick's representation was working to seek a trade from the Niners. And while it sounded like the Houston Texans and Cleveland Browns were the most interested (which of course they denied), there certainly could be much more interest across the league for a guy who led his team to three NFC Championships.
Denver Broncos QB Brock Osweiler
The big news here is that the Broncos essentially announced they won't be using a tag on Osweiler. They've got a salary range they're working toward as well, so we may not get any clarity before the tag deadline.
Washington QB Robert Griffin III
This one's maybe the hardest to read of all since RGIII fell behind Kirk Cousins on the depth chart in 2016. Washington seems reportedly intent on tagging Cousins, though that doesn't mean they won't turn around and trade him thereafter. That of course likely means they'd need a trade agreement in place before the first of March to keep them from heading into a weird limbo of having Cousins tagged without any clear trade worked out ahead of time.