The Chicago Bears announced Friday that they have placed a franchise tag on defensive tackle Henry Melton. The franchise tag for defensive tackles in 2013 comes with a guaranteed salary of $8.45 million.
Melton responded positively to the move, tweeting: "Good to be a Bear for another year," before adding, "Hopefully we can get a long-term deal done soon!"
Chicago may take the same approach with Melton as they took last offseason with Matt Forte. The Bears tagged the running back to buy time before working out a four-year deal last July.
The Bears will have approximately $12 million in cap space at the start of the new league year. The Bears have used a large portion of cap space by tagging the defensive tackle, while the franchise looks to re-negotiate with other free agents, such as linebacker Brian Urlacher.
Melton played a major role in the Bears defensive scheme. Last season, Melton tied for third among NFL defensive tackles last season with six sacks, and he also forced two fumbles. Melton's 13 sacks over the past two seasons is second among defensive tackles over that span.
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