February 20 - March 5: Franchise Tag February 22-28: NFL Combine March 13: Free Agency Begins at 4 p.m. March 25-28: NFL Owner’s Meeting March 30-31: Super Regional Combine April 26-28: 2012 NFL Draft May-June: OTAs Late July: Training Camp Begins September: First Preseason Game
So you can't apply a franchise tag after March 5th? Before Free Agency even begins? Does that mean we have to decide on whether or not to franchise Mario even before we have a chance to see what he would command on the open market?