Giants 'probably' won't use franchise tag -- report

Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweeted Tuesday afternoon that the New York Giants would "probably not" use the franchise tag on any player, according to owner John Mara.

What does that mean? Well, the Giant most likely to have the franchise tag applied would seem to be starting left tackle Will Beatty. This news would indicate that the Giants feel confident they can reach a long-term contract agreement with Beatty and don't need to "tag" him at the expected $9.66 million salary tag number for offensive linemen in 2013.

Other players mentioned as tag possibilities for the Giants have been safety Kenny Phillips and tight end Martellus Bennett. Tagging Phillips would cost the Giants $6.798 million and tagging Bennett would cost them $5.962 million per current estimates. It seems unlikely the Giants would want to pay those prices for any of the three players.

Official tag values won't be released until next month.