Jets franchise kicker Folk

The Jets placed their franchise tag on kicker Nick Folk. (USATSI) More NFL offseason: NFL Mock Drafts | Prospect Rankings | Top free agents

New York Jets kicker Nick Folk will be receiving a nice raise for the 2014 season. Folk was hit with the Jets franchise tag on Friday, a move that means Folk will be making about $3.556 million next season. That's more than four times the $780,000 Folk made with the team in 2013.

The franchise tag means Folk will play the 2014 season under a one-year deal, however, like all players hit with the tag, Folk has until July 15 to try and negotiate a long-term contract.

Don't be surprised if that doesn't happen though, the Jets and Folk haven't been able to work out a long term deal since Folk joined the team in 2010. The 29-year-old kicker has played the past four seasons on a series of four one-year contracts.

Folk may have an argument for a long-term though after what he did in 2013. In what may have been the best season of his seven-year career, Folk hit 33 of 36 field goals, including three game-winning field goals in games against Tampa Bay, Atlanta and New England.

Placing that franchise tag on a kicker may seem weird, but it's actually kind of common. In 2012, five kickers were tagged, including: Cincinnati's Mike Nugent, Cleveland's Phil Dawson, Denver's Matt Prater, Jacksonville's Josh Scobee and Tampa Bay's Connor Barth.

The cost to tag a kicker is low and as we all know, NFL teams love things that are low cost.

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Chiefs intend to reduce RB Jamaal Charles' workload



Jamaal Charles had a marvelous season. He gained more than 2,000 yards from scrimmage, averaged five yards per carry and scored a league-high 19 touchdowns. He led the Chiefs in rushing yards, receiving yards and receptions. He finished second in the MVP voting and led many of you to fantasy championships.What's possibly even more amazing is how Charles' body was able to handle everything the Chiefs demanded. Charles touched the ball 329 times and remained relatively healthy for the entire season despite weighing about 200 pounds. Actually, Charles has remained unbroken in the last two seasons as he took on 649 combined touches. That much work on a small frame usually spells disaster in the NFL, and head coach Andy Reid recognizes that. According to ESPN.com's Adam Teicher on Thursday, Reid indicated that he intends to use Charles a little less and backup runing back Knile Davis a little more in 2014."Knile was a rookie and he was learning every week and getting better every week," Reid said. "As the season went on we were able to give him the ball a little bit more. Coming into this season, we'll be able to mix it up a little bit better than what we did early in the season last year."



Charles rested in Week 17 and exited the Chiefs' playoff game during the first quarter due to a concussion. In those two games, Davis carried the ball 45 times for 148 yards and three touchdowns. He added nine receptions for 38 yards and another score. Davis is close to 230 pounds and ran a 4.37-40 at the 2013 Combine, which is just freaky. He broke a leg in that playoff game but should be ready for OTAs.Kansas City's offense will still be centered around the ground game, and Charles will still be their horse. So he won't touch the ball 330 times again; how do you feel about 290? He'll be just fine. Davis' late-season burst makes him a must-own handcuff.