Earlier this offseason, , meaning they had until 4 p.m. ET on Monday to reach a long-term contract agreement with their respective teams. If they failed to do so, they'd play under the lucrative, but short-term franchise tag. That deadline has pa sed.In all, four players agreed to long-term contracts while three players are stuck under the tag. The four players who agreed to multiyear deals are: (Chargers), who signed (Cardinals), who signed (Giants), who signed (Panthers), who signed Now, let's take a closer look at the three players who didn't reach a long-term agreement, , .Kirk CousinsFor a second straight season, Cousins will play under the franchise tag, but he shouldn't be too upset about it. Under the franchise tag, Cousins will make $23.9 million this year. Last year, he made $19.9 million. So in all, Cousins will have made nearly $44 million in two years by accepting the the franchise tag. That's really not all that bad.Washington, on the other hand, is not too happy about this development. Shortly after the deadline pa sed, in which the franchise attempted to portray Cousins as someone who doesn't want to play for the team for life.Our goal was to sign Kirk to Tre Flowers Jersey a long-term contract with the final objective of having him finish his career with the Redskins.On May 2nd, right after the draft, we made Kirk an offer that included the highest fully guaranteed amount upon signing for a quarterback in NFL history ($53 million) and guaranteed a total of $72 million for injury. The deal would have made him at least the Quinton Jefferson Jersey second highest-paid player by average per year in NFL history.But despite our repeated attempts, we have not received any offer from Kirk's agent this year.Kirk has made it clear that he prefers to play on a year-to-year basis. While we would have liked to work out a long-term contract before this season, we accept his decision.Here's the real reason why Cousins turned down that offer of $53 million guaranteed: Bruce Allen says WAS offered Kirk Cousins $53M gtd. Barely above bare minimum:2017 salary: $23.9M2018 trans. tag: $28.7MTotal: $52.6M Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) Smart move by Cousins, who is open to signing a long-term deal with Washington after the season, Or could Cousins eventually reunite with Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco?It's worth noting, however, that Cousins is entering the 2017 season with a worse supporting cast than usual, with both and gone. If Cousins' numbers take a hit, he won't get that .Since 2015, Cousins has completed 68.3 percent of his pa ses for 9,083 yards, 54 touchdowns, 23 interceptions and a 99.3 pa ser rating.LeVeon BellLe'Veon Bell is one of the best running backs in the NFL. He's right up there with . In 12 regular-season games last year, Bell accumulated 1,884 yards from scrimmage. In the ' first two playoff games, he rushed for 337 yards. Yet the Steelers didn't hand him a long-term deal. I gue s I just gotta get better... Le'Veon Bell (@L_Bell26) Under the franchise tag, Bell will earn $12.1 million in 2017 ... a suming he signs it.Bell hasn't signed his tender, which means he's technically not under contract. And that means he doesn't have to show up for training camp. Le'Veon Bell still has not signed his franchise tender, so he's not obligated to be at camp. May not see him until mid-to-late August. Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) Back in February, our Joel Corry -- a former agent -- Will Dissly Jersey explained why the franchise tag might be the best thing to happen to Bell. Any competent agent tries to take the average of franchising a player twice and use the number as a fair approximation of a long-term deal when it's a realistic po sibility that his client will receive the designation to prevent him from becoming an unrestricted free agent. It's going to be a tough sell with Bell since a contract averaging in the $13.5 million neighborhood doesn't reflect the state of the top portion of the running back market. Nonethele s, the po sibility of Pittsburgh putting a franchise tag on Bell can be used as ammunition to increase the floor on a long-term deal.It wouldn't be ideal but Bell's best way to maximize his compensation might be playing under at least one franchise tag if the right deal doesn't materialize before the July 15 deadline for reaching multiyear contracts with franchise players. There would be risk because a big payday could go out the window with another serious injury like in 2015. Bell has only a played a full 16-game regular season once, in 2014. He mi sed the playoffs that season with a hyperextended right knee.Bell's window of opportunity for a ma sive contract would still exist in 2018 at 26 even though running backs have a shorter shelf life than other positions. He Bradley McDougald Jersey could continue to erase any off-field concerns the Steelers might still have over the next year by waiting. Pittsburgh would have more pre sure than this offseason to reach an agreement with Bell even if there is a second franchise tag because a third one would be the highest number at Justin Britt Jersey any position.It's risky, but if Bell can make it through the season unscathed and put up the MVP-caliber numbers he did last year, he should be in line for a mega contract following the season. Regardle s, that's a question for next offseason. For now, Steelers fans can take comfort in the fact that they're set to enter the 2017 season with their offense -- , , and Bell -- fully loaded.If there's a team that has a chance to take down the in the AFC, it's probably the Steelers. For that to happen, they'll need Bell to be at his best.Like Cousins, Johnson is entering his second straight season under the franchise tag. Last year, when the chose to tag Johnson over , he made $13.9 million. This year, he'll make $16.7 million. It sounds like there As ESPN's Alden Gonzalez explained, the Rams are switching to Wade Phillips' new scheme, Johnson struggled last year (one interception) after Jenkins left for New York, and the Rams have other contracts they're prioritizing.Don't feel too bad for Johnson, though. He'll be the highest-paid cornerback in 2017,